The 100 Tales Challenge
by Amberleaf le Haunt
Summary: I'm battling against other authors to see who can write 100 Tales first! Wish me luck! ;3 Rated T, just to be safe. OMG I SHALL WIN! Hehe. XD EDIT: I HAVE NOW OFFICIALLY WON THE 100 TALES CHALLENGE! YES! WHOOT! GO, ME! :3 ;
1. Beginning

**Well, here is the first chapter of The 100 Tales! ^^ I am battling against Gingerstar14, and Frostfoot-Dreamleaf; and I THINK someone else. I'll probably lose, because I'm going away for two days tomorrow and not coming back until Friday ( :( ) but I hope you like this chapter! ;3**

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Chapter 1: Beginning

Wingfeather writhed on the ground and screeched.

"Jayfeather!" she screeched. "It _hurts_!"

"Now, no need to worry, I—" Jayfeather was cut off as Wingfeather's body rippled, she let out a pained screech and a kit slid out of her belly, onto the ground.

"Well done, Wingfeather!" he congratulated her. "You survived that one quite nicely. Okay…." He felt her belly and studied it. "It appears that there are three more kits coming."

"Three more kits?!" Wingfeather gasped. "I won't be able to handle that!!! What if I _die_?!"

"No, don't worry; you won't die," Jayfeather assured her. "It'll be _just_ fine! I've got everything under control."

"I sure hope so—" Wingfeather screeched as her whole body shuddered, and a kit started to slide out onto the moss.

"Whoa, this is going to be a big one!" Jayfeather's eyes were wide. "Keep going, Wingfeather! Yes, you'll be okay…. you've got it!"

The father, Darkstream, raced up. "Is she okay?!" he gasped. "I heard the screaming."

Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently. "Yes, she's doing fine. You might want to lick that kit, though. It still hasn't started breathing."

Darkstream licked the first kit desperately, and Jayfeather licked the second one. After a few moments, though, Darkstream was desperate.

"It isn't breathing!" he cried.

"Just lick harder!" Jayfeather urged him, already done with the second kit. The second kit wriggled up to her mother, and started to suckle from her belly. Wingfeather reached out a paw and stroked the young kit's fur. "Aw, she's so cute!"

"It's not working!" Darkstream cried desperately. Now, Jayfeather stepped in.

"Just lick some more!" he snapped. "We delayed a bit with licking that kit, so it's _bound_ to take longer! Now _keep working_!"

"Okay, okay," Darkstream mumbled, licking the little black kit desperately. While Jayfeather paced around the nursery uncertainly, Darkstream was panicking more and more by the minute. And then, all of a sudden....

"I've got it!" Darkstream exclaimed. "He started breathing!"

"That's great! Good for you!" Jayfeather congratulated him. "Now, put that kit by the others, and wait for the next kit to come out. I'm going to need your help with licking it. This was the second one; there are two more coming."

Suddenly, Wingfeather gave a horrendous screech. "Another one! It's coming! It's stuck!"

"No, it's not stuck." Jayfeather felt impatient. "Just push harder!"

"Ugh…. UNGH…. there, I've got it!" Wingfeather screeched, pushing out a little brown tabby kit with a white underbelly and paws.

"Good for you!" Jayfeather congratulated her. "Now…." He pushed the kit over to Darkstream. "_Lick_," he ordered; his voice scary. "Lick for all you're worth!"

Darkstream licked desperately, but this kit didn't take that long.

"He's breathing!" Darkstream exclaimed.

"Excellent," Jayfeather said. "Now, put that one with the others." Darkstream gently picked up the kit and put it down beside its siblings. It mewled in a raspy voice, and Darkstream purred.

"Aw, so cute," he murmured.

Since it didn't look like another kit was due for a while, Jayfeather and Darkstream sat down, looking out of the nursery entrance.

"So? Have you picked out any names for them yet?" Jayfeather asked softly.

"Well, no…." Darkstream admitted. "Although we _did_ like the names Flowerkit and Treekit…."

"Those are pretty names," Jayfeather conceded. "But there are two others, you know, and—"

Wingfeather gave a great big yowl, causing both Jayfeather and Darkstream to jump up and whirl around, bristling. A little brown kit slid out onto the moss, and Jayfeather jumped in and started licking it.

The kit gave a great big _gasp_, and sucked in for air. Jayfeather placed it with its mother and siblings, and the two toms looked over the mother and her kits.

"There are two she-cats, and two toms," Wingfeather murmured softly. "This black one is a tom, and this brown one is a she-cat, and this brown tabby is a tom, and this little white kit here is a she-cat."

"I think we should name the black tom Nightkit," Darkstream murmured. "And the brown she-cat can be Featherkit. What do you think?"

Wingfeather managed a weak smile. "Perfect. Lovely. Then, this little brown tabby tom can be Treekit, and this little white one can be Flowerkit."

"Those are lovely names!" Jayfeather exclaimed. "All right, so you have Nightkit, Featherkit, Treekit, and Flowerkit. These kits are not just kits; in fact, they signal a new beginning for the Clan."


	2. Wanna Play?

**SORRY, GINGERSTAR14!!!! :( **

**I KNOW that I copied your idea, a bit. It's just that.... IT WAS SO GOOD!!!! :D **

**But mine is longer; don't forget that! ;3**

**Okay, so; I PROBABLY won't be able to get another chapter done tonight, but.... on Friday, when I get back, I'll try to get THREE**** chapters up!!!! Can you imagine?!?! THREE****!!!! :D **

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Wanna Play?

Dawnpaw padded through the forest. Everything was quiet.

A little _too_ quiet.

She looked around nervously, jumping at every sudden movement. The mist was hanging heavy around the trees, and she was finding it hard to see. It was just before dawn, and she had woken up early, so she had decided to take a walk.

It was quiet and scary around the camp before dawn. Dawnpaw wasn't even sure where she _was_ anymore. The trees looked unfamiliar.

_I…. I've _got_ to be still in ThunderClan territory. I've just _got_ to!_ She was getting desperate. She didn't know where to go.

She didn't even know where she was anymore.

_StarClan, help me!_ Dawnpaw prayed silently. _I don't even know what to _do_ anymore!_

She padded through the forest for what seemed a _long_ time. When the mist _finally_ cleared up, she could hear, see, and smell properly again. She gasped.

The trees smelled weird, like rogues. There was also a bitter tang of blood, and the whole area just felt forbidding.

Another clue was the sounds. It was still quiet…. there was not much rustling in the background. Dawnpaw jumped when she heard a distant scream, but it soon faded out.

_Probably just a bird's alarm call,_ she thought. But even she couldn't convince herself.

The trees and plants and pathways were…. different. Just _another_ clue for the truth that she could never hide from herself, not in a million moons:

This was definitely _not_ ThunderClan territory.

She didn't even hear the footsteps, and all of a sudden, she was ambushed.

"NO! HELP!" she yowled, as a cat jumped on her from behind and pinned her down. She struggled to get up, and threw the other cat off of her. All she could see were evil, grinning faces on cat-shaped shadows, and more joined the circle around her as she watched.

Dawnpaw trembled, wondering what would happen. This looked _terrible_.

"Where…. what…. who _are_ you cats? Where am I?" she whimpered nervously.

The black one at the front smiled. Evilly. Knowingly. Cunningly. Those were all expressions that ranged across the cat's face. She noticed that he stood out from the group. He had one white paw, but…. that was it. This cat, and all the rest of them, had red eyes. They looked just _evil_.

"Oh, sweetie, you have wandered onto the territory most commonly known as 'The Torturers' Space,'" he purred sweetly.

"The…. The T-Torturer's…. Sp-Space….?" Dawnpaw asked uncertainly. Then, she startled. "Wait, _what_?!"

"Why, yes, lovely kitty," the leader purred. "Now, come along!" His face hardened into a _very_ evil smile, and a cat behind her clawed at her rump. Dawnpaw jumped.

"Ow!" she yowled. She felt _pain_!

"Lovely," the cat who had clawed her reported. "This one will do _wonderfully_."

"Well, then; let's get to it!" the leader exclaimed, and the cats began to move. Dawnpaw's attacker roughly pushed her along, and she stumbled along with them.

They had not been walking for too long when they came to a thick hedge. There was a hole in the hedge, and the cats shoved her through it, murmuring excitedly. Dawnpaw couldn't pick out what they were saying, but she was _sure_ that it would be something bad.

When Dawnpaw emerged into the clearing, she gasped, and stared in shock. There were cats….! In cages….! They all looked miserable and unfed. They all had scars on their bodies.

"Well, kitty; you go in here," the cat who had clawed her before said, shoving her into a vacant cage and closing the lock. Dawnpaw yowled very loudly, and scrabbled at the cage bars.

"Oh, it's too late for that, sweetie," a cat purred. "Get some rest. You have a big event happening later on."

Still apprehensive, Dawnpaw curled up on the cold, hard cage floor and went to sleep.

She was awakened roughly with a claw prodding her in the shoulder and a loud yowl of, "Get up, pretty toy!"

Dawnpaw turned around and hissed. "Redpaw, don't you _dare_ call me that!" But then, she realized where she was. She was in this cage, with these cats all around her. She shivered, and let two large black cats escort her out of the cage.

They dragged her over to an area in the middle of the clearing. All the cats who had been in the cages were sitting at the front of the group, being held by black cats with leashes and collars.

"We announce to you, the newcomer! She's a pretty one, all right," said the leader with the white paw, holding her up.

"Rock, can I torture her?!" yowled one cat. Dawnpaw guessed that the leader was named Rock.

"Sure, sure!" he purred. "Wanna play?" he asked Dawnpaw with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Dawnpaw was too afraid to say anything, so she just nodded. Rock laughed.

"Bring out the spikes!" he yowled.

Some cats rolled out a bed of spiky things. Then, they pushed Dawnpaw down onto yet _another_ board, making her so that she was belly-side-up. They fastened her paws to it with shackles and held the boards as they flipped it over and put her belly precariously close to the spikes.

Suddenly, Dawnpaw realized what they were going to do. "No! NO! Please! Please, don't! STOPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!—" Her scream was abruptly cut off as they lowered her belly down onto the spikes and started rubbing her lightly along it. They were pointy, so they cut small wounds. They started rubbing her harder and harder, faster and faster, pushing her belly farther into the spikes! Dawnpaw screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!" she screeched, blood pouring out of her belly and chest and pooling around the spikes' base.

"Oh, too late for that, precious toy," Rock purred. They took her off the spikes and, flipping the board over so that she was belly-side-up again, removed her from the board and pinned her down in the middle. The cat who had asked earlier to torture her came up and, while two cats held Dawnpaw down, smiled evilly and rubbed his paws together. He reared above her, and then….

He struck.

Dawnpaw screamed, wild with pain, shaking her head over and over again, as he raked his claws down her belly again and again. He flipped her over and scraped his claws down her back, and then flipped her over, belly-side-up, again. And then, he leaned in. His thing was close to her pussy, and he lightly pressed it in, whispering, "My precious," over and over again. His voice was evil, and so were his intentions.

Dawnpaw moaned in pleasure and pain. All of a sudden, he started going in really hard and fast!!! She screamed in pain and pleasure again, and it seemed to go on _forever_. Then, it stopped, and Rock said, "Now, this torturing session has ended."

And two cats shoved her back into her cage, and latched it shut. Rock went up to her and laughed in her face, and she whimpered painfully, "Can you let me go now, please?"

"No; you're here for good. Sorry, sugar," he whispered, stroking her cheek with a claw. She sighed in apparent pleasure, although there was nothing _pleasurable_ about it.

Once he was done, she sighed and went to sleep.

Later, when she woke up, she saw Rock's face at her cage bars again.

"Wanna play?" he asked evilly.


	3. So, You Think You're Tough, Huh?

**Well, here! ^^ I hope you enjoy it! I worked hard on it! ;3 ;) **

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So you think you're tough, huh?

Dawnkit woke up on a sunny yet cold morning in the middle of Greenleaf.

_Today's the perfect day!_ she thought eagerly, getting up and quickly licking herself. She let out a small purr of satisfaction as she smoothed out her pelt so that it wasn't messy.

She got up and, gingerly setting her paws down, got out of the nursery. It started to get warmer as the heartbeats wore on. She sat in the entrance to the nursery, her tail curled neatly over her paws.

A bird let out a loud alarm call, and Dawnkit flinched. _Did everybody hear that?!_

She heard noises from inside the nursery, and turned around and looked out.

"Oh…. good morning, you two!" she said brightly as her two siblings, Nightkit and Cloudkit, woke up. They scampered over to her as their mother stirred slightly and watched.

"So…. do you wanna do the game today?" Dawnkit asked her siblings quietly.

"Great StarClan; yes, I do!" Nightkit said enthusiastically.

"Shhh!" Dawnkit quickly shushed him. "Not…. not so loud."

Nightkit nodded seriously. "Okay," he said.

"Hmmph, well; at least _I_ know how to be quiet," Cloudkit said, all in a huff.

"Oh, Cloudkit." Dawnkit flicked her sister's ear lightly with her tail. "Don't get all mad."

Cloudkit bristled. "Don't you tell me what to do!" She had a _bit_ of a temper.

"Ah, yes; I see your temper is acting up again," Dawnkit laughed.

Cloudkit let out an angry growl. Dawnkit decided that she must have not gotten enough sleep last night.

"So, when do you think Applekit, Sunkit, and Rainkit are coming out?" Nightkit asked worriedly, looking up at the sky. "I think it's going to rain soon."

"I'll go in and wake them up," Cloudkit growled, getting up and stomping into the nursery.

Soon, Dawnkit heard a loud yowl, and the voices of excited kits. Soon, Applekit, Sunkit, and Rainkit bounced happily out of the nursery, followed by a sullen Cloudkit.

"We're _he-re_!" they sang, bouncing happily around Dawnkit. She laughed.

"We can start the games now," she purred. Then she rose her voice to a yowl: "Every kit, gather 'round!"

They all gathered in a circle around her and she announced, "Today is the day of the Games. We will be racing, and _fighting_! It will be fun."

"Yay, the Games!" sang Applekit.

"The Games!" yowled Sunkit.

"THE GAMES!" screeched Rainkit.

"Very nice; very nice." Dawnkit covered her little ears.

"You're being _too loud_ for a nice morning like this!" Cloudkit hissed grumpily. "Keep it down."

"Oh, Cloudkit." Dawnkit flicked her sister's ear with her tail. "Let's start. First, Cloudkit and I will battle it out in a race from the nursery to the leader's den!"

"Ready…. set…. GO!" Rainkit shouted.

Dawnkit propelled herself forward. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to win this one. Cloudkit was _very_ fast when she wanted to be….

Cloudkit dashed, panting, across the clearing. Dawnkit saw that her sister was getting ahead of her, and sped it up.

Soon they were neck-to-neck. Each could hear the other panting as they raced to the finish line. And then….

Cloudkit pulled out ahead! She tumbled into the leader's den and quickly stood up and shook herself out. Dawnkit skidded to a stop, crashing into the wall outside the leader's den.

"I win!" Cloudkit declared, happy now.

Rainkit scampered over from the other side of the clearing. "Great job, you two!" she panted. "Cloudkit is the winner! Sorry, Dawnkit," she apologized quickly. "You lost, and I know you don't like to lose."

Dawnkit laughed. "No, no; it's fine. At least Cloudkit is back to her normal self; and that's what matters."

Rainkit let out a purr. "I guess you're right. Come on; I want you to judge my race with Sunkit."

****

The rest of the morning progressed very much like that. The warriors and other cats were careful not to get in the way of the kits' games, and everything was happy.

Then, it was _finally_ time for the battle between Nightkit and Dawnkit.

"I'll be the judge," Cloudkit announced. All the other kits took seats around her. Nightkit and Dawnkit faced each other from opposite ends of the camp, grinning.

"No claws, no teeth, no hurting each other; just playful fun," Cloudkit announced the rules. "If it gets to be any _more_ than that, well…. your game will end. Understand?"  
Both Nightkit and Dawnkit nodded.

"Right, then," Cloudkit yowled. "_Begin_!"

"So you think you're tough, huh?" Nightkit challenged, wiggling his rump as he prepared to spring forward.

"Try me!" Dawnkit challenged, leaping forward.

"Here we go!" Nightkit yowled, rolling forward to meet her.

Dawnkit crashed into Nightkit and he pinned her down with a move as quick as lightning. He had flipped onto his feet and flipped her over, all in less than a heartbeat.

Dawnkit went limp. She _loved_ this trick. Nightkit started to get off.

"I win," he announced.

"Not so fast!" Dawnkit _burst_ upward, flinging him back across the camp and giving her time to shake out her fur and get ready for his next battle move. Cloudkit was announcing all the events.

"And Nightkit seems to have beaten her, moments after the battle started—oh! Oh, no; she is up and ready again! Nightkit has been flung halfway across the camp and this gives Dawnkit time to recuperate!" she yowled. Cats were poking their heads out of their dens and sitting outside the dens, looking amused.

Dawnkit saw the leader sitting at the entrance to his den, but she had no time to focus on that. Nightkit was barreling toward her again!

She leaped up just as he reached her and crashed down on top of him. Nightkit gasped, all the air knocked out of him, and she jumped off of him and began circling him menacingly. Nightkit leaped up a moment later and flew at her.

Bowling her over, they rolled backwards until Dawnkit was on top. Nightkit went limp, but Dawnkit knew that trick. She was ready.

As soon as he was about to burst up, she tightened her hold on him and kept him down.

"I win!" she called, loosening her grip.

Nightkit slunk out from under her. "_Fine_. You win."

"And Dawnkit is the winner!" Cloudkit declared. "Yay, Dawnkit!"

Dawnkit stared hard at Nightkit again. "I won! So, you think you're tough, huh?"


	4. Sunrise

**Well.... THIS one is actually kind of.... SHORT.... *cough* *cough* But, whatever! ^^ I don't care! I like it, anyways! ^^ ;) It has sort of, well.... a _mystical_**** feeling, don't you think??? :) :3 **

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Sunrise

Rosekit was jolted awake out of her sleep by a bird's loud alarm call. She slowly crawled out of her mother's nest, and went to the entrance of the nursery.

"Oh, it's morning," she yawned, sitting up sleepily.

The rooster in the farm next to their camp was announcing to everyone that dawn was coming. _I want to watch the sunrise,_ thought Rosekit.

Rosekit slowly got up and cautiously looked around. _Nobody's looking. Good._

She made a mad dash across the clearing for the camp entrance. She hustled herself through the thorn tunnel and quickly burst out into the open. Taking a sharp left, she was soon facing the rooster—and, consequently, the sunrise.

The sky lit up in brilliant blues, oranges, and pinks as the sun started to raise its sleepy head above the horizon.

Rosekit sighed happily. She _loved_ watching the sunrise. Even from inside the camp, something about it was just—_magical_.

The sun peeked over the horizon, coloring the sky with various blues and pinks. Orange rays shot out from the sun's big head, going out all over the place.

_I _must_ watch the sunrise more often,_ Rosekit thought. _This is beautiful!_

With the sun, flowers were starting to bloom again. The flowers that closed up at night _slowly_ opened up their beautiful petals to face the sky once again.

As Rosekit watched, the flowers that closed up during the day—those pretty white night-flowers—slowly closed their petals until they looked like just a little plant head, and sank into the ground.

While Rosekit had been watching the flowers, the sun rose farther and farther into the sky.

The rooster screeched, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" with almighty strength. In the rays of the slowly rising sun, Rosekit's pelt started to warm up. She relished the comfortable feeling.

Suddenly, she heard sounds from inside the camp. Cats would start to wake up. Soon they would be worried!

Rosekit scampered back into the camp and walked slowly into the nursery.

"Where have you been, Rosekit?" her mother, Petalwing, demanded. "I was looking all over for you!"

"Oh…. I was just watching the sunrise," Rosekit yawned.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Petalwing suddenly agreed.

"Yes, Mother," Rosekit murmured. "The sunrise _is_ beautiful."


	5. Midnight Run

**^^ Well, here it is! The 5th chapter of 100 Tales! :o .... If I don't hurry up, I'll lose FOR SURE. Oh, well. But it's the weekend today! ^^ If I work hard, well, then; I SHOULD be able to get up to, like, Chapter 20 today! ^^ It's definitely possible, and PROBABLY not unheard of! ^^ Well, I hope you like this chapter! ;) Enjoy! :3 **

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Midnight Run

Firepaw couldn't sleep one night. She tried and she tried, tossing and turning in the moss, but she just _could not_ sleep.

It was the same for her best friend, Flowerpaw.

"Firepaw?" Flowerpaw whispered. "I can't sleep…. what say we go out on a midnight run? It's moonhigh right now…."

"Sure," Firepaw whispered back. "_Anything_ to get away from this camp…. I feel cooped up, trapped in here…. maybe a good run will relieve me of my problems."

"Once we get back, maybe I'll be able to sleep," Flowerpaw agreed, and they both quietly slipped out of the apprentices' den.

Sneaking to the camp entrance, they slowly left. A warrior, Lionheart, was on guard there.

"Hello, you two," he whispered, his eyes sparkling. "Are you up to any mischief?

"N-No," stammered Firepaw, astounded that he would think such a thing of them. "We…."

"We just couldn't sleep!" Flowerpaw pitched in. "Therefore, we are going on a midnight run."

Now, Lionheart got serious. "Are you two _sure_ you will be okay?" he asked with serious, worried eyes.

Firepaw snorted. "Of _course_ we'll be fine. Listen…. we're _not_ going off the territory or anything; we should be okay!"

Lionheart let out a purr. "I should hope so. But you two are strong; nobody will get you!"

Firepaw purred, "Yes, that's right. We should be fine."

"Well, then, go!" Lionheart encouraged them, shuffling over so they could leave. "I'm not stopping you. Just…. be careful."

They _finally_ got out of the camp. They stopped a little ways from the camp entrance to talk.

"So, where would you like to run?" Flowerpaw purred. "On the edge of the territory or in the middle?"

Firepaw hesitated. "Hmm…. don't you think it would be better if we stayed in the _middle_ of the territory? You never know what could happen if you accidentally stray outside the border…. Remember Breezepaw?"

Both she-cats were silent as they remembered their friend. She had gone on a midnight run one night with some other apprentices, and they strayed outside the territory. The other apprentices came back in the morning, badly beaten and scratched; they said that some rogues had attacked them. They had let them free but had taken Breezepaw as their slave. She hadn't been seen since.

"What if she…. _died_?" Firepaw wondered sadly out loud.

"Yes…. or what if she can't escape? What if she's stuck serving her masters…. _forever_?" wailed Flowerpaw.

"Shh, not so loud!" Firepaw hissed. "The key to safety is usually _quiet_, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Flowerpaw murmured. "There was also Dawnpaw…. remember? She took a quiet stroll before dawn and never returned."

"What if she was taken as a slave, like Breezepaw?" Firepaw murmured sadly.

"Yes—wait," Flowerpaw said, perking up suddenly. "You know, brooding like this does us absolutely _no_ good. Let's run."

They started running. Firepaw panted happily, letting her tail stream out behind her and letting herself just start running…. forget all her worries….

Flowerpaw was having fun, too. She _loved_ running. In fact, they _both_ loved running. They often raced in the camp.

Firepaw took notice of the bushes and trees rushing past them, and listened to the sounds of the streams and the forests, and she scented prey _everywhere_.

Flowerpaw noticed how the night mist seemed to hang in the air, making it perfect for a midnight run.

Firepaw thought that it seemed sort of mystical.

Finally, the two stopped after having run in a _wide_ circle. They stopped right outside the camp.

"I thought that was great!" Firepaw purred.

"I thought it was sort of a…. mystical feeling, y'know?" Flowerpaw urged her.

"Yes! I thought that, too!" her friend purred.

Flowerpaw stretched and yawned. "Well, I think it's time to go in. Don't you?"

_Great StarClan, I _am_ feeling tired!_ Firepaw realized, with a jolt. "Yes," she purred. "Let's go in."

Lionheart was still waiting at the camp entrance for them. "Well, had a fun time, you two?"

"Yep!" Flowerpaw purred.

"And we wouldn't mind going again!" Firepaw agreed.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun on your midnight run," Lionheart laughed.


	6. Broken Promises

**This is kind of sad, and you'll probably be wondering, "Why in the world would a medicine cat announce her love for someone else, and, of all places, at a _Gathering_****??? Well, because of true love, of course! ^^ Enjoy! :3 **

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Broken Promises

Feathertail raced eagerly to the Gathering, along with her Clanmates. She was a medicine cat, and she had loved another cat, Jaywing, for a _long_ time. Today, they were announcing their love for each other!

"It's no point in keeping it a secret…. right?" Jaywing sat by her, his blue eyes full of love. "Maybe StarClan will forgive us. Maybe we can just continue on with life like normal. Maybe…." His eyes sparkled as he uttered the last words: "We can even have kits."

"Oh, you really think so?" Feathertail purred. "I've always wanted to have kits."

"Yes…. if we don't _officially_ announce our love for each other, what if somebody finds out inadvertently? Then we'll get in even _more_ trouble," Jaywing reasoned.

"I love you, Jaywing," Feathertail purred.

Jaywing hesitated. "I love you too, Feathertail. I love you, too."

"Promise to love me forever?" Feathertail asked him.

Jaywing hesitated, for a bit longer this time. "….Yes. I promise to love you forever, Feathertail."

That was two nights ago. Feathertail hoped that Jaywing hadn't changed his mind since then! But he hadn't come to see her at night at their usual meeting place, so maybe he just wanted some space and alone time before they announced it together.

_I don't know. I hope he hasn't changed his mind!_ Feathertail thought worriedly.

Lost in her reverie, Feathertail didn't really register that her Clan was already at the Gathering until she was sitting down next to one of her Clanmates, Sandfeather.

Sandfeather's pale orange, almost yellow, coat, dotted with darker golden specks, gleamed in the sunlight. She looked down at Feathertail. "I can't wait for the Gathering to begin!" she murmured. "I want to hear more about what WindClan has to say about the recent border dispute."

WindClan was Jaywing's Clan! Feathertail lived in ShadowClan. Their Clans were always at war…. but there was _some_ room for love, wasn't there?

"We gather here tonight under the full moon," Feathertail's leader, Snowstar, yowled. "The Gathering shall now begin."

The leaders began to talk. When they were done, Feathertail stood up. "I have something to say," she yowled.

"Yes, Feathertail?" Snowstar asked, somewhat impatiently.

"It's big news," she shouted, as she daintily picked her way to the front of the group. She saw Jaywing at the front of the group, sitting with another she-cat known as Swiftwind.

"I'm in love with Jaywing, and Jaywing is in love with me, too," she yowled, her pelt prickling with selfish pride. She heard gasps all around her, and Jaywing stepped forward.

"What? I don't love you anymore, Feathertail," he said solemnly, looking her in the eye. "After we met two nights ago, I decided that I like Swiftwind better. She's actually in my own _Clan_, and besides, she's…. not a medicine cat."

A few cats laughed. Feathertail felt her pelt begin to burn with embarrassment. "But—But Jaywing!" she gasped. "You _promised_! You _promised_ that you would love me forever!"

"Sorry, Feathertail," Jaywing murmured, "But I have to break that promise."

Feathertail gasped, extremely hurt, and whirled away from the group. She stalked up the hill, out from the clearing that the Gathering was held in, and as soon as she broke free from all the brambles, started to run.

As she ran, thoughts ran through her head. _He betrayed me! But he promised me! I can't believe it! Oh…. I'm so hurt._

She didn't even notice when she got back to camp. She _wouldn't_ have noticed, except that all of a sudden she was back in her own den.

She was so crushed she could do what she did next. She found a piece of fresh-kill that had been lying in her den since evening, and slit open the mouse's belly. She stuffed deathberries inside, and gorged herself on the mouse.

As she lay, panting, inside her den, about to die, she thought, _Nothing is sure when there's always the possibility of broken promises._


	7. Frozen

**This is short -- only one page, but I like it! ^^ Some of the next chapters will PROBABLY be, like, really short or whatever (only HALF a page, or TWO-THIRDS of a page or somethin'), but when THAT happens, I usually just got bored. (^-^) Take no heed of that! ^^ Most of them, AFTER I catch up to brackenfurlover, of course (as of now, I have written up to Chapter 11, only 5 more to go until I beat him, can't wait! ^^ But I'm goaling to get up to _20_**** today, sooooooooooo.... Weekends are the best! ^^)**

* * *

Frozen

It was as if time had stopped. It was _cold_ outside. Windypaw shivered in her "nest."

Since the curse of StarClan had descended upon them, after some weird prophecy of sorts, everything had started to die. There was no more prey, and plants shriveled up. Cats started to get skinnier and their moss nests were no longer decent. But they had no choice. There was no more moss.

The few bits of prey that _were_ brought in were eaten by the elders and queens, or shared around the camp. But everybody was dying. One cat, Swiftpaw, had gone on a quest—and whether she returned was yet to be seen.

Windypaw struggled up and stumbled towards the apprentices' den entrance. Redpaw glared up at her from his nest as she stepped on his tail by accident.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he hissed.

Windypaw let out a purr. At least _he_ was still normal. "Alright, alright."

After her little bit of joy, everything was dark and sad again. It was cold, there was not enough food…. well, basically, everything was going wrong.

Windypaw stumbled across the clearing to the nursery. She could hear the poor kits mewling inside.

"Good morning, Mother," she panted.

Snowfeather looked up from her nest. "Oh…. good morning, Windypaw. What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to see your kits…. one last time…." Suddenly, Windypaw was feeling very weak. "I think I'm going to die. At the very least, I'm getting weaker. I'm feeling like those other cats felt like before they died…. weak, and eventually they couldn't even get up from their nests anymore." She let out a wail. "Mother, I don't _want_ to be like that! Swiftpaw was my friend…. I want to see her _come back_!"

"Shh, be peaceful," her mother urged her. "It's okay; it's okay. With any luck, we _will_ survive these hardships. You're stronger than me; yet I'm not even _close_ to dying yet. You'll probably live."

Windypaw nuzzled her mother's flank. "Thank you, Snowfeather. I'll keep that in mind…."

And with that, she stumbled back to her nest and fell right asleep, dreaming peacefully of food and bouncing kits.

****

Days passed. Windypaw got weaker and weaker, and Redpaw died. She was heartbroken.

"Oh, Redpaw," she whispered, sticking her nose into his cold, cold, little skinny body. "I wish you didn't have to go."

****

One night, Windypaw fell asleep, weaker than ever. She couldn't even move anymore. She fell asleep dreaming of food and bouncing kits yet again….

She never woke up.


	8. Can't even save myself

**My computer's being crappy at the moment. O.o; It takes, like, FOREVER to load a page!!!! :( **

**THIS chapter is only 1 page long, too; but it's good! ^^ _Nightfur, I love you...._**** That's such a romantic way to die!!! :) Aw! :3 **

* * *

Can't even save myself

Owlfeather was one of the youngest warriors in ThunderClan. She was prosperous, always bringing enough prey in. The problem was; she was spooked easily. It was hard to control her when she got scared. She would lose control, and she seemed to _always_ run into danger.

Was it bad luck? No…. just the way her mind was built. That was just how her personality was, and she was always fine…. until today.

She was hunting alone near the lake, looking for water voles and just thinking. She had just recently gotten pregnant with Nightfur's kits, and she wanted to hunt one last time before she was confined to the nursery. She _loved_ hunting: she didn't want to give it up.

She was chasing a vole when she heard the noise; the big, scary noise.

Slowly, terrified, she looked up. And what she saw scared her out of her mind.

"HELP!" she screamed. She gave up the vole chase and it ran into a hole. But she didn't care. She had _bigger_ things on her plate right now….

A patrol suddenly came out from the trees above the lake. Owlfeather screamed.

"HELP!" she screeched manically.

It was a fox that was chasing her. And, pretty soon, it chased her into the water.

Owlfeather couldn't swim, but she started to paddle desperately, anyway. She swam quickly, for the fox was _still_ chasing her!

Eventually, the fox gave up, and it began to drown. Owlfeather struggled to turn around….

….And soon found out she couldn't. _Oh, no!_ Owlfeather thought desperately. _I'm running out of energy! Too…. tired…. must…. get…. back…. to…. shore…._

She swam desperately and quickly, but she couldn't get back to shore. She was in the middle of the lake. Exhausted, she began to sink.

As she started to drown, her life flashed in front of her eyes. Becoming an apprentice. Her first dawn patrol. Her hunting assessment. Becoming a warrior. Finding out she was pregnant with Nightfur's kits. Her first _real_ battle.

….All of that was insignificant now. And, suddenly; she remembered.

_The kits!_ She tried desperately to flounder up to the surface. _The kits! They're going to die, too! And they won't ever see the sunrise, or…. or _anything_!_

Eventually, Owlfeather had to breathe, but instead of air, she got a mouthful of water, instead!

Her lungs slowly filled with water. And, as black dots began to cover her vision, and she got weaker and weaker, she had a thought.

Her last thought was: _I love you, Nightfur._


	9. Expectations

**Well; here is EXPECTATIONS!!! ^^ Oh, btw; if you DON'T want to read an INCREDIBLY graphic scene (well, actually; it's just like Chapter 2; Dawnpaw is back! ^^) then, SKIP RIGHT TO CHAPTER 11!!! :o I won't stop you. ;3 Although; I WOULD like it if you would read, AND review, Chapter 10 AND 11, sooooooo.... ;) Yeah. ^^ **

* * *

Expectations

Have you ever had a time where you felt that someone expected too much of you?

Have you ever had a time when you just wanted to say no?

Have you ever had a time when you just…. couldn't?

Lilypaw was feeling that way one morning in green-leaf. Her mentor, Leopardclaw, had ordered her to bring back ten pieces of prey.

She felt that it was too much, but it was all part of her apprentice training, she reminded herself. Besides, she had seen Blackpaw _and_ Whitepaw, on separate occasions, bring in more than _fifteen_ pieces of prey! It was impressive, and she had always wanted to be _just_ like them.

_For that, I'll have to get better at hunting. And I can do it this way!_ Her spirits soared. She could be just like her two idols!

She stalked lightly through the forest, and came up with her first piece of prey: a mouse. She was near the Sky Oak. It was scavenging among the tree roots, looking for acorns. Lilypaw let out a quiet purr. _This one's all mine!_

She stalked lightly toward it, and pounced.

As she flew through the air, she let out a caterwaul. She saw the mouse drop the seed it was eating, looking confused. It looked up and saw her with widened eyes. It tried to get away….

….But she was too quick. She finished it off with a quick bite to the neck. The little guy never felt a thing.

_I never wanted him to be in pain,_ she thought. _I just want to pass my hunting assessment!_

As the morning wore on, her hunting went pretty good. She missed two rabbits and a squirrel, but she _did_ get another rabbit _and_ another squirrel to make up for the first three missed catches.

The rabbit was her favourite catch of all.

She peeked over a log and there it was, eating grasses on the other side, in the other sun-filled clearing. She let out a loud yowl and jumped over the log.

The rabbit startled; and, looking up, saw her. It immediately began to run.

Lilypaw sprinted after it at full speed. She chased it through bushes, over a tiny stream trickling through the woods, and to the WindClan border. At first, she thought she wasn't going to get it.

But then, she felt a miraculous burst of speed. She sped forward to get it and caught it in her claws. It wriggled desperately, trying to get out. But, no; she had a good choke-hold on it.

She bent down to bite the life out of it. She chomped down on its neck and snapped it. The rabbit went limp and its eyes slowly glazed over.

_That's good!_ Lilypaw thought happily.

She took the rabbit back to where she had buried everything else. She counted her prey.

"Nine," she said out loud. "I have nine pieces of prey. I just need _one_ more!"

She slowly crept through the woods, and, coming across a blue jay, started to stalk that. It was searching for seeds at the bottom of a tree.

One step, two steps, three steps….

On the fourth step, it was death. Death for the blue jay, I mean. She pounced on it!

She killed it and took it back to her prey stash. She took her prey back to camp.

Her mentor was sitting in the middle of the camp when she got back. When Leopardclaw saw how well she had done, he purred, "Great! You can eat first if Whitepaw and Blackpaw don't bring in more prey…. oh, wait. They're on patrol duty and elder duty today. You can eat first!"

"Thank you, Leopardclaw!" she purred, picking a plump rabbit brought in by one of the other warriors and eating it. She was _hungry_!

One by one, the other cats began to come and eat, too. Leopardclaw proudly told everyone how well she had done, and her brother came up her and nudged her.

"Hey, I heard you're doing as well as Whitepaw and Blackpaw now!" he said happily, entwining her tail with his.

Lilypaw looked back at Fishpaw. "Well, it all comes down to living up to expectations!" she purred happily.


	10. Too Much

**Well, here's the graphic scene I was talking about! ^^ I hope you like it! ^^ Dawnpaw is back; but I won't say any more. ;3 ;) **

* * *

Too Much

The pain was too much.

Too much.

Dawnpaw was getting tortured again. The cat who was torturing her was the same cat as the one who had mated with her when she first came here.

She had found out that his name was Claw, and he had no sympathy for groveling she-cats. He took pretty she-cat slaves as his mates and that was it.

Dawnpaw's pretty pale gray fur was stained with blood. Her sky-blue eyes were clouded with pain.

_Why me? WHY ME???_ she often wondered, knowing that a simple careless mistake could get her killed. Her simple, careless mistake back on her morning walk before she was captured had cost Dawnpaw her freedom. Dawnpaw wanted to get back home, but _no_, she was stuck here.

Claw grinned down at her from where he was standing above her, supposedly "sharpening his claws" on her belly. They were already sharp enough!

He sunk his claws deep into her belly and slowly dragged them down. She screamed in pain. Her belly was one of the most sensitive parts of her body!

He slashed at her ears and face. She winced repeatedly as the pain came, again and again.

Suddenly, he stopped. He positioned himself more over her and slowly slid his "thing" close to her pussy. She screeched.

_This is what they're going to do to me!_ Dawnpaw thought, desperately struggling, trying to get away. But it was no use. He had a good grip on her.

He pressed his thing lightly against her pussy and she screeched in forbidden pleasure. It was "forbidden" because she didn't _want_ to feel pleasure! She _needed_ to get out of here, and she couldn't let little things like this try to convince her to stay!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" she cried, feeling reluctant pleasure as he slowly stuck his thing farther into her pussy, moving back and forth, back and forth. She screeched.

"Oh, you like it, do you, Pretty Toy?" Claw purred menacingly. She nodded her head, because if she didn't, she could die. Denial was, unfortunately, _not_ an option for slaves.

"Well, then, LIKE THIS!!!" he screeched happily, going into her, hard and fast, up and down, back and forth. She screeched in pain as he took one paw off her side and clawed her belly.

Soon, he took his thing out of her pussy and flipped her over so her back was showing. There were scars on her back and scruff, and he was planning to take advantage of that.

He stuck his paws into large gashes. She gasped in pain.

He pulled on her tail, as hard as he could. Her tail didn't dislocate, but it stretched.

_And that hurts!_ Dawnpaw thought.

He let go off her tail and its momentum worked like rubber. It flicked back and smacked her in the rump.

"Ow!" she cried.

"This is fun," Claw said, grinning evilly. "I'm going to ask Rock if I can keep you and your cage in my den, so I can torture you more."

"NO!!!" she screeched, shaking her head from side to side. All of this was a bit much. _Too_ much.


	11. All that I have

**Well; how's THIS for short evilyness? :3 I hope you like it! ^^ It's kind of sad, in my opinion....? Well, whatever; ENJOY!!! ^^ **

* * *

All That I Have

"You realize that I'm giving up all that I have to be with you?" she purred, pressing her cheek to his.

"Yes," he sighed, "But so am I. I was deputy of a Clan…. you were the medicine cat. It's an equal trade-off, if you think about it."

"And we both love each other," the she-cat added.

"Yes…. that, too. We _both_ love each other," he said, with a comforting smile. The she-cat sighed.

"We can never go back after this. It's…. it's too dangerous. What if we get back, only to find out that they don't want us and they exile us anyway? Or maybe even…. _kill_ us?" she informed him worriedly.

"I won't let that happen," he growled. "You're safe as long as you're with me."

"Thank you, Swiftheart," the she-cat purred, rubbing up against him. "I love you, you know."

"And I love you, too, Birdcloud," Swiftheart agreed.

"We should probably get going," Birdcloud mused. "Sitting here, at the border between our Clans, won't help us."

"Right, then. Let's get going," Swiftheart decided, getting up and going up the river.

They eventually walked out of the trees. Birdcloud looked up as they passed the Moonpool one last time.

At the top of the ridge, they both looked down at the lake before them. They were leaving it today, forever; they were never coming back.

Peace and the sweet scent of flowers seemed to surround them as they walked off across the barren moors; across territory new to both of them.

"Let's travel far, Swiftheart," Birdcloud purred. "They'll never find us if we travel to those forests far in the distance over there." She pointed with her tail to some forests far off.

"We're just like Leafpool and Crowfeather," Swiftheart laughed. "I've heard that tale many times as a kit…. I never dreamed that _I'd_ be like the cats in the tale, though. Yes, Birdcloud; let's travel far, far away. Maybe we can even start our _own_ Clan."

"Yes." Birdcloud purred in agreement. "If we do something like that, we're not giving up _all that we have_; only some of it."

"Right," Swiftheart purred, in agreement.

Together, happy, they walked off across the moors, under the light of the full moon.


	12. Struck Down

Struck Down

"I _will_ beat you!" Berrystar hissed. "My trainees and I _will_ fight against you! You are no match for us, you…. you…. you vile creatures!"

"Nonsense!" Sparkstar hissed. "RootClan _will_ beat VineClan! Remember, these are _ShadowClan_ trainees! They are _always_ stronger!"

"Oh, really?" Berrystar challenged, leaping at Sparkstar again. "Well, we have Lionpaw!"

Sparkstar leaped easily aside and came crashing into Berrystar again. Berrystar quickly rolled and came out on top.

"Ha! Lionpaw! That's _nothing_, compared to all _my_ trainees!" Sparkstar boasted.

"Well; pretty soon most your trainees will _die_! And _so will you_!" Berrystar laughed evilly. She bent down for the killing bite….

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Fangpaw came crashing into Berrystar and knocked her off Sparkstar. "Sparkstar, _go_!" he yowled. "Flamepaw and Rockpaw can help me beat Berrystar!"

"Thank you!" Sparkstar yowled, bounding off to go kill some other apprentices or something. No, she wasn't bloodthirsty. _Yes_, she needed to protect her Clan!

Flamepaw, Rockpaw, and Fangpaw all surrounded Berrystar.

"You can't beat us!" Flamepaw crowed.

"No, you can't! We'll beat you first!" Rockpaw agreed.

"We'll—"

"SILENCE!!" Berrystar cut off Fangpaw's revelation by launching herself at him. In the blink of an eye, she pinned him down and chomped down on his neck. She tore his throat out with her teeth.

Fangpaw's last words were, "Tell Waterpaw I love her…."

Berrystar jumped back and looked triumphantly at Flamepaw and Rockpaw, who were whispering to each other. They turned around and faced her fearfully.

"So, not so strong now, eh?" she boasted triumphantly. "WE WILL WIN!!!"

"NO, YOU WON'T!" Flamepaw disagreed loudly, launching himself at her. He and Rockpaw pinned her down and started clawing at her.

_Meanwhile_, Sparkstar was fighting Thornpaw, Firepaw, and Lionpaw. Lionpaw whirled around and struck her on the nose. She jumped back and flew at Firepaw. She pinned him down, but Lionpaw barreled into her, knocking her off. Thornpaw raked his claws down her belly once, twice, three times. Lionpaw and Firepaw held her down.

"Torturing cats is fun; don't you think?" Thornpaw asked his comrades, grinning evilly from ear to ear.

"Oh, yes," Lionpaw agreed.

"Definitely." Firepaw nodded.

Sparkstar knew she was being beaten. She screamed in pain as Thornpaw raked his claws down her belly.

All of a sudden, Skypaw came barreling into Thornpaw! He gave Sparkstar time to knock the other trainees down and rush away.

_All_ the male trainees were fighting each other. The she-cats, the hunters, were just sitting at the edges of the clearing, watching with wide eyes.

Flowerpaw, Cherrypaw, and Dovepaw were battling against Waterpaw and Wingpaw. They were the _only_ female trainees that were fighting. Most females weren't trained to fight, but these were cats that had been in the old training systems for most of their lives. The new training system had been implemented two moons ago. Now, cats had to train for _ten_ moons instead of _six_.

The battle raged on, hard as ever, while some of the hunters watched.

Suddenly, Sparkstar and Berrystar were battling again!

"So, here you are again. Ready to be beaten?" Berrystar taunted.

"Oh, never!" Sparkstar acted like this was all a big joke. "_We'll_ win!"

"No, you won't!" Berrystar objected.

"Yes, we _WILL_!" Sparkstar leaped and pinned Berrystar down in a heartbeat. She leaned down for the killing bite.

"Send my regards to StarClan," Sparkstar purred menacingly to Berrystar, just before she bit her throat out.

All the VineClan trainees gasped.

"VineClan has been struck down!" Flowerpaw declared unhappily. All the VineClan trainees ran away, back into their own territory. Today, RootClan had gotten about half of the territory for themselves. They had won.

_VineClan has been struck down…._


	13. Last Hope

**Well, I hope you like this! ^^**

* * *

Last Hope

When Fierceclaw had been killed by Darkblaze, every cat was shocked.

We all knew that Darkblaze was strong, but not _this_ strong! Fierceclaw was part of the prophecy! Darkblaze should _not_ have been able to beat him!

Ah, but that he did…. and now, we're all despairing. We fought because we thought we were going to win—_instead_, we lost part of our territory!!!

"It's not fair!" I complained to Redfire.

"Life _isn't_ fair," the elder grumped. "Usually, when you _need_ to win, you lose. When you think you'll catch that piece of prey, you'll lose it. When you think she loves you, she doesn't. When you think one of your best warriors is invincible, he dies anyway. _Life. Isn't. Fair._"

"But I wish it was!" I whimpered. "Fierceclaw was my _father_!"

"You'll get over it," Dawnflower, another elder reassured me. "Don't mind Redfire. He's just an old grump.

"Hey…. _what did you call me?!?!_" Redfire yowled.

"An old grump." Dawnflower shrugged. "That's what you are."

"_No!_" Redfire insisted. "I ain't no old grump!"

Dawnflower just shrugged again. "Well, fine. Suit yourself."

I walked out of the elders' den, feeling lonely and depressed. Father isn't here to praise me anymore….

****

As the season wore on, ShadowClan began to challenge us even _more_. We kept losing territory. ShadowClan was only pressuring us because they knew that they had stronger warriors than _we_ did, and that they could take our land.

Cats were dying with every new fight, and I _always_ came home from either hunting or patrolling injured.

Recently, ShadowClan took a kit, Applekit, as a hostage. They clawed her viciously and tortured her for seven days, and then gave her back to us, badly injured and on the brink of death.

Seriously, sometimes I don't know why we even go on; it's so bad.

****

One morning, after a particularly vicious battle in which I had been mortally wounded, I began to die.

"Please, Rosepaw; wake up!" my mother, Petalgaze, begged me. But I could not get up. I lay in the nest in the medicine cats' den, the life slowly bleeding out of me.

Then, one morning, I woke up especially early. I knew I was going to die. But, before I did, I heard Petalgaze and the medicine cat, Firepool, whispering to each other.

"Rosepaw was also in the prophecy," Firepool whispered, looking at me desperately. "She is a really good fighter; she wasn't supposed to die. But now, she's dying; and all because of ShadowClan and the rogues they've appointed to help them. She was our last chance. Now, we're screwed. And it's all ShadowClan's fault."

I began to breathe harder, panting. I was dying now, I knew. There was nothing to stop it this time.

_I was ThunderClan's last hope. And I blew it,_ was my last thought.


	14. Give up!

Give Up?!

"Do you give up? Well, _do you_?!" hissed Foxstar, holding Lightstar down. "I've defeated your Clan. I've killed most of your cats. I've already claimed the territory for myself. DO YOU GIVE UP?!?!"

Many cats had been killed by the vicious, ambitious Foxstar.

_Dawnflower was walking in the forest when, all of a sudden, one of Foxstar's warriors burst out from behind a tree._

"_Time to _die_, ThunderClanner. Send my regards to StarClan," Blackheart hissed menacingly._

_Dawnflower's scream was cut off with a gurgle as Blackheart ripped her throat out._

That was just one of the cats. One of the most tragic deaths had been Silentpaw, a very wise medicine cat apprentice.

_Silentpaw was walking quietly up to the Moonpool, lagging a little bit behind the others. The ShadowClan medicine cats were above her, higher up on the path._

_Silentpaw felt a funny presence. It was bugging at her, and…. well, she couldn't quite place it._

_But she knew it was there._

_The half-moon shone above her, and she let herself be comforted and bathe in the moonlight._

_Suddenly, she heard a loud caterwaul._

_Time slowed._

_The medicine cats looked, shocked, down at her. She started to run. Something grabbed onto her tail, flinging her backwards._

_She landed on the ground, belly side up. The cat that had attacked her held her down, and raked his claws down her belly a few times. Then, he leaned in for the killing bite: Soon, Silentpaw would be no more._

"_Send my regards to StarClan, _kittypet_," he hissed happily, evilly; he carefully bit her throat out, spat out the blood, and raced back down to ShadowClan territory._

_All the cats there watching were scarred for life._

That was just _another_ one of the deaths.

"I will kill you anyway," Foxstar sneered. "Do you give up?"

"Do I…." Lightstar's voice was faint. He had a paw on her throat and was pressing down on it.

"Give up?!" Foxstar's voice was jubilant.

"Yes…." she sighed, losing her last life.

"We win; we win!" Foxstar yowled, jumping off of Lightstar and quickly killing, wounding, or taking hostage the remaining living warriors and apprentices of ThunderClan.

ThunderClan had lost. Lightstar had given up.


	15. Illusion

Illusion

It's easy to not see what a cat is hiding inside of them. It's easy to make an illusion; to be fooled into thinking he has a pure heart.

That's how it was with Tigerstar.

I, Bluestar, really believed in him. I never believed he would commit treachery. I am too forgiving.

I never really listened to Fireheart, even when he warned me. I just shrugged it off.

I trusted him too much.

Tigerstar was _not_ the right cat for me—_or_ for ThunderClan.

He tried to destroy me, and take over the forest. When I wouldn't give him what he wanted, he started to hate ThunderClan.

I didn't see any of this until it was too late.

The rogue attack…. I was forever scarred for life afterward. I had really believed in him, but he tried to kill me anyway.

"Bluestar," Tigerclaw yowled, rushing into my den. "There are rogues attacking the camp!"

"Well, then; go deal with it, then!" I demanded.

"Oh, no; I have something _more_ to deal with, Bluestar," he purred menacingly. "_You_."

"What—_me_?!" I squeaked. "W-Wh-What do you mean, Tigerclaw?! Go deal with those rogues _right now_!"

"I mean that I'm going to kill you," he purred viciously. He leaped at me and pinned me down. I screeched.

It was at that moment that Fireheart came rushing in.

Oh, Fireheart; brave, sweet Fireheart; my apprentice, deputy, and successor.

_He_ was destined to lead ThunderClan.

_Not_ Tigerstar.

"I'll save you, Bluestar!" Fireheart yowled, leaping into battle with Tigerclaw. I retreated to the back corners of my den and stayed there, my heart now bearing permanent damage.

Fireheart and Tigerclaw became a rolling, screeching bundle of fur, each one trying to kill the other.

Eventually, Fireheart was able to beat Tigerclaw, and Fireheart grabbed Tigerclaw and put him in the middle of the clearing for everyone to see.

I came out into the entrance of my den and watched and listened as Fireheart listed all of Tigerclaw's traitor activities.

I couldn't believe it.

I had trusted this cat…. and he had betrayed me. Was there anything more to life?

Now, I know. _Firestar_ was the cat destined to lead ThunderClan, after all…. he's saved ThunderClan time and time again.

He is my hero. And I have learned not to fall into an illusion again, like I did with Tigerstar.


	16. Last Chance

Last Chance

I had one last chance.

One last chance to take over the Clans, and make them see _my_ ways.

But I blew it.

I, Sol, was trying to bring up the old ways of Tigerstar…. shatter the Clans' faith in StarClan and let _Tigerstar's_ ways be known!

But I failed it.

Everything was going _perfectly well_ with ShadowClan…. until, of course, that sob, _stupid_ ThunderClan stepped in.

Firestar, the kittypet. He is worthless, _nothing_ to the forest! He doesn't even deserve to be _alive_ anymore! If he had just stayed in his old kittypet home, or not come to the lake or something; well, then, Tigerstar's ways _would_ have been recognized!!!

But they weren't.

And now Tigerstar is angry at me.

"Sol," he growled menacingly. "You have failed my quest. And you _know_ that I don't take failure well. So…. be _tortured_!"

And so, then; he leaped on me and began to torture me. I went limp beneath him. I screeched and screamed.

"This is your punishment." Tigerstar grinned evilly.

When I woke up, Tigerstar gave me one last chance. _Only one_. I was covered with scars, and I was weak, but…. I thought I could do it.

One day, I decided that I _can't_ do it. As long as those stupid prophecy cats are in the way…. I _could_ have gotten rid of Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. I _could have_!

But, no. I couldn't. Their belief in StarClan is too strong.

Hollyleaf was too suspicious. She wouldn't her brothers come back to me.

She began to learn the ways of a vicious cat…. she killed a cat, if only to protect her secret. But then…. she _confessed_ her secret! And went into the tunnels! And when the tunnels collapsed, she _died_.

The day I walked away from the lake, I knew I was probably going to get mauled by Tigerstar again.

But I don't care.

My last chance…. I blew it. Tigerstar would probably just kill me either way and go into _my_ body and take over the Clans for _himself_!

Sorry, Tigerstar; but you'll have to find a new pawn to do your bidding.

I'm giving up my last chance and leaving.

Forever.


	17. Into the Fire

Into the Fire

It was very hot and humid in ThunderClan that day. It seemed that there was a storm impending.

We all knew, of course. One of the cats in the Clan, Lightningstripe, was always down whenever a thunderstorm was about to start.

"I don't feel well," she whimpered to me.

I am the medicine cat apprentice, Amberleaf. My mentor, Flowernose, went out into the forest to get some herbs.

"Hmm…. do you have a headache?" I asked kindly.

"Yes," she whimpered. "Can I get some poppy seeds, please?"

"Certainly!" I purred. "Wait right there."

I scampered into the herb storage and came out, holding three poppy seeds.

"Here, three should be enough," I said, holding my paw out to Lightningstripe. She obediently licked up the little seeds.

"Thanks…. I feel better already." Lightningstripe sounded relieved.

"Would you like to stay here?" I offered. "It's nice and cool in here…. maybe it won't feel so oppressive in here. Because, you know…. outside is worse than inside; if a rock wall is surrounding you, maybe it won't be so bad!"

"Thank you," Lightningstripe agreed. "That would be nice, please…. it gets stronger every with every heartbeat." She touched her paw to her forehead. "I know that the storm is coming on, and fast. We should prepare. It hasn't rained for half a moon…. what if a fire starts?"

"Yes, that's my worry, too," I agreed. "But it should all work out!" I added optimistically.

"Oh…. I don't know…." murmured Lightningstripe.

****

Later, a storm actually _did_ start.

Cats were hiding in their dens to hide from the lightning and thunder when, all of a sudden, one of the elders, Volefire, screeched "FIRE!!!"

I gasped. "Everybody, get out of the camp! _Now_!" I screeched, running into the middle of the clearing.

Lightningstripe got up, with a gasp. "What's wrong? Am I needed? Should I help?"

"I-I don't actually _know_," I confessed. We raced out of the camp. Outside the camp, the leader was doing a head count.

All of a sudden, a queen screeched, "Applekit is missing!"

"What?!" I startled. I raced back into the camp, Lightningstripe on my heels.

"I'll save her!" Lightningstripe yowled, leaping forward to the wall of fire in front of us.

"No, don't go into the _fire_!" I yowled. But it was too late.

Lightningstripe had disappeared.

I raced out of the flaming camp, and got into the forest clearing where everybody was gathering.

I sat down and sighed. Now, she was gone. Lightningstripe had felt that she had to save Applekit…. but there was nothing she could do. And, _besides_, they were probably dead now.

"Oh, Lightningstripe," I murmured. "To save Applekit, you had to go _into the fire_…."


	18. Stars

Stars

When Lightningstripe leaped into the wall of flame, she didn't realize at the time that she would be scorched. Or that she would die.

But die she did; and now she was here, in the bottom part of StarClan's hunting grounds.

There was a path leading up to the stars. It went up far, very far; as far as she could see, and even _then_ some. The effect was…. magical.

_I _miss_ ThunderClan,_ Lightningstripe thought. _Why, oh _why_ did I have to try to save that kit? I knew that she was dead, anyways…._

The truth was that Lightningstripe never really liked her ability to tell when storms were coming. Some cats still called her "cursed" and "evil" because of her weird ability…. and she hated it.

Therefore, she wanted to die.

Why, you ask? Why did she want to die? It was only a few cats.

But to Lightningstripe, it meant the world. And she wanted peace, and happiness…. even if she had to die to get it.

_I must be deranged or something. Since _when_ did I start thinking like that???_

Suddenly, Lightningstripe heard a mewl behind her.

"Lightningstripe! Lightningstripe!" a little voice called.

Lightningstripe whirled around in _obvious_ relief. "Applekit!" she called, her voice filled with joy.

"You're here!" Applekit mewed happily. "But…. wait…. Where _are_ we?!"

"We are in StarClan's hunting grounds," Lightningstripe explained sadly. "You and I are both dead."

Applekit looked shocked. "No—that isn't _true_! Let me out of here!"

"Well, here's a path…. leading up to StarClan, I guess," Lightningstripe said hesitantly. "Let's follow it. Maybe…. you're not really dead, after all. Maybe…. they'll let you and I go back."

"Oh, I sure hope so!" Applekit bounced into place behind her. Lightningstripe laughed.

Lightningstripe followed the path of stars; up, high, high up, into the air. Applekit kept gasping with admiration. "Oh, wow! Look at _this_! Lightningstripe, this is _amazing_!"

Lightningstripe paused at the top. "Look," she meowed sadly. "You can see the lake…."

"Yes," said a voice. "You can. This is StarClan's hunting grounds."

Both cats jumped. Applekit and Lightningstripe turned to face Spottedleaf.

"Come with me…." she purred. "I am Spottedleaf. I am from _way_ back. I have been watching over ThunderClan since the era of Firestar."

"Wh-What…. You—you knew _Firestar_?!" Applekit gasped.

"Yes, little one; I did," Spottedleaf laughed. Her laugh was high and silvery, Lightningstripe noticed. "You died in the fire…. there's no saving you now…. you can't go back."

Applekit let out a desperate mewl. "But—Mother! What will happen to her! She'll be _sad_!"

"Well, yes; she will be," Spottedleaf agreed. "But she'll be _happy_ knowing that you're safe!"

"Y-Yes…. I guess…." Applekit could _not_ deny the medicine cat's wisdom.

"Let's go," Spottedleaf urged them. "Let's go meet the rest of StarClan. You'll like it there, I'm sure."

Together, Applekit and Lightningstripe followed Spottedleaf up into the stars.


	19. Only?

Only?

Earlier that fateful day, DarkClan challenged LightClan to a battle.

"_If you lose, we'll take you _all_ as hostages and prisoners!" Sharpstar yowled._

"_Very well; we will _fight_!" Eaglestar declared._

Later, as we sat in his den, tails entwined, he told me something.

"I absolutely can't _wait_ to fight this battle!" he purred to me. "Only…."

"Only….?" I inquired.

"Only I'm afraid that I'm not going to win." He looked downcast.

"Don't worry; I'm _sure_ you'll win!" I purred. "You're the leader of LightClan, and we have the strongest fighters at the moment; don't forget that!"

"Besides, the only thing I've got to lose is my lives!" he agreed happily.

"Well, yes…. I guess," I murmured.

He went into battle, and never came out. Yes, that's right. He _died_. LightClan lost. Now, we're_ all_ prisoners of DarkClan. How's that for a happy ending?!?! No, not really; right?!

Oh, sure. He was _only_ worried that he wasn't going to win. He _only_ had his lives to lose. Right? Well, not really. I was his mate…. I miss him….

What will the kits think when I tell them, I wonder?

I can just see it now….

"_Your father was the leader…. and he died in battle," I say._

"_But leaders are invincible!" one of my kits cries._

"_Yeah!" cries the other one, looking confused._

"_What's up with that?" demands the other kit._

….It's not a happy sight. Of course, not _all_ kits are like that. I can only hope that mine will be the most forgiving types…. for Eaglestar's sake.

Only. Only. Only. I keep repeating that word in my head: _Only_.

I miss Eaglestar…. he was everything to me.

I _was_ able to think up a bit of sarcasm earlier:

Yes, I _only_ lost him…. not like he was anything special to me…. right?

But…. _that is so not true!_

I loved him.

Even if he thought he had only his pride, his Clan, and his lives to lose.

Those, along with me, are everything.

And I am everything.

He lost me; he lost not _only_ me, he lost _everything_.


	20. Uh oh

Uh-oh

"Uh-oh" didn't even _begin_ to describe it! When curing a cat, you can't make mistakes. If it costs a cat their life; well, then…. it can get you into _very_ big trouble.

You could get exiled. Or killed. Or you could lose your job as a medicine cat.

Or…. maybe _nothing_ will happen. But that would be _extremely_ lucky!!!

Like the mistake I made today. Listen, kits. _Never_ make the mistake I did.

I was half-asleep. It was the early morning.

"Leafpaw, _please_ give Cloudflower some juniper berries. I'm relying on you! I need to strip this horsetail," Moonflower said, nudging me awake in my nest.

"Uh…. okay," I yawned. I stretched and_ slowly_ got out of my nest.

I stumbled quickly over to the herb pile. Moonflower wasn't watching me…. she usually did to make sure I did the right thing. It cost me a _lot_. Although it was _also_ my fault…. I should have been looking closer. But I wasn't.

I grabbed a few berries on my claws and gave the half-asleep Cloudflower the berries.

I went back to my nest, satisfied. I could sleep now. I thought everything was fine….

….Until she began to scream.

Cloudflower screamed and writhed in her nest. Moonflower and I _both_ jumped and raced over to her, but Moonflower got there first.

"Deathberries…." she murmured suddenly. And then she turned to me, her eyes blazing yellow fire.

"Why did you feed Cloudflower deathberries?!" she demanded of me.

"Wh-what deathberries?!" I was as shocked as she was.

"You fed her _deathberries_. She's going to _die_!" Moonflower hissed.

"No!" I gasped. "I didn't mean it! What can we do to make her better?!"

Moonflower sighed. "Nothing," she said; her face full of despair. "Cloudflower will die, Leafpaw. And it's all your fault."

I'm still waiting for my punishment. The leader hasn't called a meeting yet…. but everyone knows. _Even though_ it was just an accident, they all hate me.

Uh-oh. He's calling the meeting now.

I wonder what my sentence will be….


	21. Dreams

Dreams

Ah, I see that you have come to visit the dream-world of StarClan, my little kit.

Dreams are very special in their own ways. Some cats dream of StarClan; others just dream of "normal cat stuff." Not everybody who dreams of StarClan is a medicine cat. Some of them, like Firestar, are just normal cats.

You seem to be normal. You're not planning to be a medicine cat or anything of the kind?

….Oh, you want to be a leader someday, when you grow up? Now, _that_ may be why. If we start sending you prophecies, though…. you might be better off being a medicine cat.

Being a medicine cat is hard. You have to be able to heal cats with no mistakes, _and_ you have to have a strong connection with StarClan.

Being a leader is even harder. Receiving your nine lives is one of the hardest parts, but it is all worth it, in the end.

Being a deputy is just…. normal. Most deputies don't have strong connections with StarClan _until_ they become leader. Then, they will start dreaming about StarClan more.

Most warriors, _and_ apprentices, are just…. normal. They don't dream about StarClan _at all_. Well, most of them don't. Some do; I was never one of those. I was killed by Tigerclaw, unfortunately, so I could never be a leader. I think, however, that all along, _Firestar_ was the right one for ThunderClan.

Oh…. are you asking who I am? Why, I am Redtail, former deputy of ThunderClan. I have been dead for many moons; not even _Firestar_ is alive anymore!

Oh, wait; you'd know that, wouldn't you? After all, you _are_ living in ThunderClan.

Would you like me to show you around the StarClan camp? It's a lot like the normal Clan camps. There are den for warriors, apprentices, queens…. some queens, if they died right at pregnancy or around that time, can feed really young kits who die at birth…. or when they're very young.

The warriors' den is _really_ big. We have more cats up here than you do down in those Clans of yours, little one.

Oh…. dawn is coming. I guess I can show you around another time; you need to get back to your Clan. Here, jump into the Dream Pool—that's where cats go after they visit StarClan.

Good luck! I hope you can visit again!


	22. Inside my heart

Inside my Heart

I'd always wanted Dapplepaw.

She was perfect for me; I was perfect for her. We both loved each other. Wildpaw agreed with the relationship…. she even helped us a little bit.

Dawnpaw and I made plans to run away someday. We would start our own little Clan, called TigerClan. It would have fierce, strong cats; everybody would be loyal and brave, and have kind hearts.

And then, she died.

Dapplepaw and Wildpaw were killed by Thistleclaw. I killed Thistleclaw in cold blood after that, and then, I had to kill Cloverpaw so that the secret would not get out.

It was around that time that I turned evil.

Thistleclaw _hated_ me. He wanted to make life as miserable as possible for me. Well…. it worked. After I turned evil, I _was_ miserable most of the time. I missed Dapplepaw a _lot_. I missed her _so_ much that I could hardly stand it.

_Is that_ really_ worth turning evil for?_ some cat might ask.

_Yes,_ I would answer. _It is._

Thistleclaw hurt me, deep inside my heart. And _even_ when I started loving Goldenpaw, I knew that I would never _completely_ stop loving Dapplepaw. Even when Goldenflower and I had kits; I still missed Dapplepaw more than _anything_.

It's because of me, and my bloodthirsty father, Thistleclaw, that she never got a warrior name. I was born, and Thistleclaw hated me; he decided to destroy my new-found happiness by killing the she-cat that I loved; I killed him and Cloverpaw.

Now that I am trapped inside the Dark Forest, I _hate_ myself. I absolutely _hate_ myself. Because if it wasn't for me killing Thistleclaw, and Thistleclaw torturing me like this, I wouldn't be evil.

Even when Thistleclaw tortured me as a kit, I wasn't that unhappy…. I was just confused. When I became an apprentice, however, now it was the _real_ deal.

I wish I could be with Goldenflower again…. I miss her _so_ much. I miss Dapplepaw, also. But she must hate me now…. I wish that I could just explain to her: _I'm not as evil in the heart as you _think_ I am! Remember TigerClan? Remember our plans? Thistleclaw ruined all that…._

Now, I hate ThunderClan…. Although I _do_ sort of regret that I tried to get Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost and Tawnypelt to help me. Hawkfrost _died_, and now he's stuck with me; Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt don't want _anything_ to do with me anymore….

I wish that Thistleclaw wasn't my father. If I hadn't become so evil, this wouldn't have happened…. I hate myself. Dapplepaw will _always_ have a special place inside my heart.


	23. Elite

Elite

Hello. I am Redfire. And I am one of the Elite.

Who are the Elite, you may ask? Oh, they are like super-warriors, with many privileges, in BloodClan.

BloodClan has many positions (from least to best): slave, elder, queen, kit, apprentice, warrior, assassin, elite, healer, deputy, and leader. I am one of the highest ranks.

I _love_ being part of the Elite. I get to eat first, along with the other four high ranks; I get to choose if I want to go on hunting patrol or border patrol; I can sleep in the middle of the den at night…. being an Elite in BloodClan is _great_.

I have my own apprentice, Dustpaw. He is learning quickly. He is training to be one of the Elite, as well. He likes fighting the best. It's not surprising, as I like fighting, too; the Elite are the ones who do the most fighting. We have been trained to be able to fight well.

****

"Hey, Dustpaw!" I greeted my apprentice on a cool morning in greenleaf. "What would you like to do today?"

Dustpaw flexed his claws. "I would like to torture someone."

"Well, then; that's just great!" I exclaimed. "Let's go see Foxdung; you can torture her if no one else is using her."

We got to the slave den; to our luck, there were _three_ slaves in there. Foxdung was one of them.

"Foxdung!" I called, once we got into the entrance of the slave den. It was actually the dirt-place; I preferred not to go in there.

She got up and sighed. She daintily picked her way through the dung and came out to meet us. I slashed at her ear.

"It's about time," I growled.

"Come on," Dustpaw meowed excitedly. "Let's go!"

****

We got to the training clearing quickly enough. I turned around to face Dustpaw. Foxdung was lying on her belly in between us.

"Right, Dustpaw," I said. "What is the best way to torture a cat?"

"Claw its belly and its ears!" Dustpaw answered quickly.

"Good, good," I praised him. "Now try it."

Foxdung screeched in pain as he slowly raked his claws down her belly and clawed at her ears. I laughed, watching her. She was just so _funny_!

****

The day continued on much like this: we got Foxdung to hunt for us, and _then_ we went on a short border patrol. When night-time came, I thought back on the day again.

_How wonderful it is to be one of the Elite in BloodClan,_ I thought. And then I fell asleep.


	24. Surrender

Surrender

"Surrender!" she hissed. "Surrender; or I'll kill you!"

The cat below Juniperflower wheezed and panted. Covered with blood and scratches, it was not much of a pretty sight.

"I…. no…. I…." it gasped.

Juniperflower sunk her claws farther into its throat. "_I'm waiting, piece of foxdung,_" she hissed menacingly.

"I…. surrender…." the cat gasped beneath her. It was choking.

"I'll just put you out of your misery," she purred evilly. She ripped its throat out and its eyes started to glaze over.

Juniperflower turned and faced all the other cats. "Well, kittypets, do you surrender? Are you going to flee? Or do you want to join us? I offer no second chances," she added evilly. "Join us now or don't. If you decide to flee, if you are found in our territory again after tomorrow's sunrise, we _will_ kill you. Got that?"

Her gaze traveled to the scrawny black tom closest to the front of the crowd. "Do you flee, or join us?" she asked; her voice sounding like brittle shards of ice.

"I-I join you," it whimpered, cowering beneath her. Juniperflower pointed with the tail to a spot beside her, and it stood there.

****

After a little while, all the cats had either fled or joined her. Juniperflower led her victorious Clan home.

She was the leader of BloodClan, a Clan ruled by fear. She _had_ been part of WindClan, but Scourge had visited her in dreams and told her to go restore BloodClan to its former glory. So she did, and she never regretted it.

****

She had fought many battles in her time, and each time she always won. Whether the leader of the group surrendered or not, she always killed him or her. And then, the remaining cats either fled or joined her. BloodClan was a _huge_ Clan now.

Supposedly, her claws were permanently stained red from all the killing she had done.

_That's not true!_ she always thought indignantly if someone in her Clan brought it up.

****

She won the next battle she fought, of course.

"Surrender!"


	25. Rejected

**Well, I made up a little song to go with Chapter 26, and it sounded good, so I decided to take my favourite song and put it with this chapter. 333 It's called Don't You Want Me by The Human League.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS _OR_ DON'T YOU WANT ME _OR_**** THE HUMAN LEAGUE!!! GET THAT IN YOUR LITTLE HEAD ALREADY!!! :( **

**Okay, I ONLY decided to do the disclaimer 'cause, y'know; I don't want people to get the wrong idea.**

**OMG VACUUM CLEANER!!!! :P My Mom is running the VACUUM CLEANER. :P **

**(I don't know exactly WHY I'm so fascinated by that. But I am. XD)**

**ALSO; Gingerstar14, if you were expecting to win, you are probably sadly mistaken!!!! :( If you can only write 4 chapters in, like, 2 hours, then you'll probably be staying up ALL NIGHT if you want to beat us!!!! :) (brackenfurlover and I BOTH have 27 chapters up now. 333 Yes, that's right, peoples; I have ALL the way up to Chapter 27 done!!!! :D) **

**Well, enjoy! ;3 **

* * *

Rejected

_You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar_

_When I met you_

_I picked you out_

_I shook you up_

_And turned you around_

_Turned you into someone new_

Today was the day that Brackenfur was going to admit his love for Whitestream. She was just so perfect…. he had loved her for a long time.

_Maybe we can even be mates,_ he thought happily. Brackenfur got out of his nest and started walking towards the den entrance. It was just dawn; Brackenfur was _hoping_ that he could go on the dawn patrol!

"Hey," he called to the cats waiting by the camp entrance as he walked out of the warriors' den. "Can I come on the dawn patrol with you?"

Roseheart looked pleased. "Sure! We could always use an extra cat or two."

_Now five years later on you've got the world at your feet_

_Success has been so easy for you_

_But don't forget it's me who put you where you are now_

_And I can put you back out, too_

Pretty soon, the deputy, Snakepelt, came bouncing out of the leader's den. He had a brown mottled pelt; that's why he was named Snakepelt.

"Let's go!" he meowed happily, running out of the camp entrance. Roseheart, Brackenfur, and Swallowpaw followed him.

_Don't, Don't you want me?_

_You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me_

_Don't, Don't you want me?_

_You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me_

Later, when they returned, they were pleased to report that all was peaceful on both borders. Not even ShadowClan had made a play for their territory; their border was marked, but there was no sign of any kind of dispute. With the WindClan border, it was the same. Everything was fine there, too.

_It's much too late to find_

_And you think you've changed your mind_

_You'd better change it back_

_Or we will both be sorry!_

At sunhigh, Brackenfur nervously got ready to tell Whitestream about his love for her. He was very nervous.

_What if she _rejects_ me? What then?_ he thought desperately. _If _that_ happens…. well, then; I'll be _heart-broken_._

_Don't you want me, baby?_

_Don't you want me? Ohhhhh!  
Don't you want me, baby?_

_Don't you want me? Ohhhhh!_

He went to the fresh-kill pile and took a mouse. He gulped it down hungrily. Whitestream soon daintily finished her food, and he went over to her.

"Uh…. Whitestream?" he said quietly. "Could you come out into the forest with me for a moment, please?"

She looked up at him worriedly. "Why; is something wrong?"

"No, n-nothing's wrong," Brackenfur stammered. "I-I just want to t-talk to you."

Whitestream nodded, but said nothing. Brackenfur led the way into the forest.

_I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar_

_That much is true_

_But even then I knew I'd find a much better place_

_Either with or without you_

Once they were a little ways into the forest, Brackenfur sat down in a sheltered, sunny glade. Whitestream sat down opposite him.

With earnest eyes, Brackenfur said, "Whitestream, I have to tell you something. I-I'm in love with you."

_The five years we have had have been such good times_

_I still love you!_

_But now I think it's time I lived my life on my own_

_I guess it's just what I must do_

Whitestream gasped. "Ah—what?!" she exclaimed.

"Y-Yes," Brackenfur said nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"Oh, Brackenfur, that's lovely—" Brackenfur's spirits lifted for a moment "—but I'm in love with someone else already. I'm sorry."

_Don't, Don't you want me?_

_You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me_

_Don't, Don't you want me?_

_You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me_

"I-I understand." Brackenfur looked at his paws, his heart breaking and shattering into a million little pieces, never to be whole again. "Who is he?"

"Oh—it's—it's your brother, Cloudpelt," Whitestream mewed. She blinked. "I'm sorry, Brackenfur."

_It's much too late to find_

_You think you've changed your mind_

_You'd better change it back_

_Or we will both be sorry!_

"Don't you want me, even a _little_ bit?" Brackenfur asked desperately. "I love you with all of my being!"

"No, Brackenfur." Whitestream's voice was firm now. "I'm going back to camp now, if you don't mind."

"N-No, that's okay," Brackenfur muttered, looking down at his paws again.

He had been _rejected_.

_Don't you want me, baby?_

_Don't you want me? Ohhhhh!_

_Don't you want me, baby?_

_Don't you want me? Ohhhhh!_


	26. Thanks for the memories

**Well, there is this one song, you see, and it goes like "Thanks for the memories" and stuffz, not sure who it's by; if you can identify a song that sounds SORT OF like this, then please tell me! :P **

**Anyways, enjoy! ^^ I mostly made up this song. :3 ;) **

* * *

Thanks for the memories

_Thanks for the memories,_

_You know that I've always loved you._

One day, Tigerstripe's mate, Cloverleaf, took him out into the forest. She said she had to tell him something.

"Tigerstripe, I-I'm carrying kits—" she began.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Tigerstripe exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me before? We can _celebrate_!"

_I can't believe that you would_

_Betray me now_

_There is still just_

_Is so much to do_

"Tigerstripe, I—I have something I have to tell you," Cloverleaf began. "_I'm not carrying your kits_."

Tigerstripe blinked. "What? You're _not_? But I thought you—you said that you _are_ carrying kits!"

"Yes, but not yours," Cloverleaf said. "I'm carrying Treefur's kits. I—I'm so sorry."

"You—I can't _believe_ you," Tigerstripe hissed. "You're my _mate_. You're not supposed to take _more_ mates!"

"Well, you're just not right for me anymore," Cloverleaf said. She looked uncomfortable. "Treefur is."

_Na na na, na na, na na-a, na, na na, na na na, na na na…._

Tigerstripe startled. "Wait—w-what?!" he hissed.

"Yes." Cloverleaf blinked sympathetically at him. "I'm so sorry, Tigerstripe. But I just don't love you anymore!"

_Please don't leave me now,_

_I can not stand it_

_I really love you, you know_

_Please don't leave me now,_

_You know I need you._

_And you need me to grow._

"But—Cloverleaf," Tigerstripe started to sway dangerously from side to side. "I _need_ you! And you need _me_!"

"Not anymore, Tigerstripe," Cloverleaf hissed. "Now, I need _Treefur_._ Not _you."

_Na na na, na na, na na na-a, na, na na, na na na, na na na…._

Tigerstripe walked back to camp in a daze. _She doesn't love me anymore,_ was all he could think. _She doesn't love me._

_Thanks for the memories,_

_You know that I've always loved you._

_You will leave me now,_

_And I'll be sad._

_But somehow I will pull through._

_Na na na, na na, na na na-a, na, na na, na na na, na na na…._

Tigerstripe _desperately_ wanted kits. But now, that Cloverleaf had rejected him.... it probably wouldn't happen.

_Oh, Cloverleaf,_ he thought. _Even if you have to go now, I have one thing to say: _

_Thanks for the memories._


	27. Hero

**I just realized that Firestar is WAY too popular with the Warrior cats. :) Shouldn't he be getting a bit.... I don't know.... cliche, or.... or OLD right now?!?! :o **

* * *

Hero

We all knew who ThunderClan's hero was: Firestar.

He saved the Clan numerous times. From Tigerstar, from BloodClan, from the Twolegs…. literally, you name it, he saved us from it.

I had my doubts about him in the past. I mean, he was a _kittypet_! He came from a Twoleg home and just _happened_ to wander into the forest. Many of us started to doubt Graystripe, then named Graypaw, when he easily accepted a _kittypet_!

Every day now that I'm in the elders' den, I am forever thanking StarClan for giving Firestar to us. He's so strong…. and he's so brave…. he's my hero. Almost _all_ of his descendants have been in some sort of prophecy in the past, and I don't know yet about Lionblaze and Jayfeather.

****

"Hey, Mousefur?" was suddenly uttered by somebody. I glanced around.

"Oh, it's just you, Longtail. Yes?" I replied easily.

"Well…. you seem to have a lot on your mind. Do you mind telling me?" Longtail asked.

"Sure!" I purred. "Well, I was just thinking about Firestar; he's saved _all_ the Clans _so_ many times; he's my hero. What do _you_ think?"

"I feel the same way," Longtail said quietly. "Although I still hold a bit of a grudge against him from that first day…. but that was a long time ago. I've forgiven him now. I can't _believe_ that Tigerstar and Darkstripe actually wanted to _destroy_ Firestar…. at first I thought it was all in good fun; you know, aggravate the kittypet, but then…." He trailed off.

"I know how you feel." I was quiet for a bit, but then I spoke. "I actually _believed_ Tigerstar, and when he was telling us that load of foxdung about how good he and Bluestar are together, and all that…."

"Yes," Longtail agreed. "I know how you feel, too."

After that, we both fell silent, dropping into our own reveries.

****

The more I thought about it, the more I was able to admit it.

Firestar _is my hero._ _Firestar_ is_ my hero._ _Firestar is _my_ hero. Firestar is my _hero_._

No matter how you looked at it, it was all the same: Mousefur was right; Firestar was her hero, and mine, too.

****

I wondered if Longtail was thinking the same thing that I was.

"Umm…. Longtail?" I reached over and touched his shoulder with my tail.

He yawned, and looked up. "Yes?"

"Do you have any other heroes, besides Firestar?" I asked.

"Yes; well, I _did_; Tigerstar used to be my hero…." Longtail exclaimed, looking rather taken aback.

"No, no, it's fine." I laughed. "I was just wondering…."

So, no matter _how_ you look at it, it's true; Firestar is my hero.


	28. Lost

**I like this chapter. 3 Even though it's short (only 469 words, including the title) I think it's good! :3 I should TOTALLY write a full-blown story about how they get back to their Clan, though. ;) **

* * *

Lost

Greenpaw ran desperately back and forth through the forest, wondering where she was.

"Firepaw," she panted, "I don't think we should have come this far. I think Luna was lying to us."

"I-I think so, t-too," Firepaw panted. His bright orange fur was sticking up in clumps. He looked as if he hadn't groomed himself for _days_. He was just stressed.

"What should we do?!" Greenpaw yowled desperately. "I don't _want_ to be lost out here forever!"

"Me, neither," Firepaw mewed quietly.

"_So what do we do?_" Greenpaw wailed.

"Be quiet!" Firepaw hissed suddenly. Greenpaw, startled, shut up. "We're _never_ going to get anywhere if we keep acting like this; you hear?"

Greenpaw nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes, Firepaw."

"Therefore, we should be calm and try to find a way out of this mess. We will _try_ to follow our trail back as far as we can, and then, after that, once we _lose_ the trail, _then_ we will look around to see if there's anything we recognize. And we _won't_ panic," Firepaw decided.

"That sounds g-good," Greenpaw sniffled.

"Great; let's go," Firepaw said, sounding satisfied.

They set off together; Firepaw full of quiet purpose, and Greenpaw silently grumbling to herself about how _nerve-wracking_ this was.

****

They searched for hours on end, stopping only to eat and take short rests.

"Do you think we'll _ever_ get home?" Greenpaw asked Firepaw sadly.

"I-I don't know," Firepaw admitted. "My plan is one of the best you can think of in a time like this, but…. it only works if you still have a scent trail to follow, or things to recognize, o-or haven't gotten very far away from home." Firepaw looked Greenpaw sadly in the eye. "If this doesn't work, we may never get back."

"No!" Greenpaw yowled. "You're lying! _It isn't true_!"

"Unfortunately, it might be," Firepaw reasoned. "But…. we _may_ be able to get back home…. we just have to keep determined…. set on the path…. and, oh; it won't hurt to keep praying to StarClan."

"Keep praying to StarClan," Greenpaw was muttering to herself. "Be determined…. keep your paws set on the path...."

"Greenpaw…. are you okay….?" asked Firepaw worriedly.

"I've got it!" she yowled suddenly. "We've just got to keep following the path!"

"That's what I said," Firepaw explained, sounding annoyed. "It's—"

"_No!_" Greenpaw yowled excitedly. "It's not like_ that_! Keep looking! There's a path from StarClan in front of us…."

Firepaw looked hard. "I can see it, too!" he mewed excitedly.

"Let's go!" Greenpaw cried, skipping off. "I can hardly _wait!_"

Firepaw followed her happily. So, the two were _not_ lost, after all.


	29. I'm not like you

**Ooh! ^^ Longtail mentions some very evilyness things, and he sounds rather wise in this chapter. ^^ **

**I'm running out of ideas for some themes. If any chapters seem.... uncomplete.... and others are.... complete.... well, then; you'll simply know what I had a tough time with and what I _didn't_**** have a tough time with. ^^ **

**Anyways, enjoy! ^^ This is one of my favourite chapters so far. ;) :3 **

* * *

I'm not like you

Sorry, Tigerstar. But I'm just not like you.

I used to worship Tigerstar; used to think he was the greatest. I didn't realize that he was a traitor; that he was planning to kill Bluestar and take over ThunderClan, and then the entire forest…. no; I just wanted to help him get rid of the kittypet!

Even though Firestar used to be a kittypet, over the moons I have come to realize that he really_ is_ a lot better than Tigerstar. He gained my trust, and I gained his. Even though he _did _suspect me of treachery when I told him what Tigerstar was doing…. Whitestorm helped him see that I was all genuine.

I was utterly _shocked_ when we found Swiftpaw and Brightpaw. They wanted to become warriors, I know…. but to do this?! It's shocking! It's mad, it's outrage, it's….

I guess they felt like me. I felt, after Tigerstar was gone, that nobody really believed in me…. I think that Swiftpaw and Brightpaw felt the same way.

And now, looking back on it, I realize that this is how Bramblekit, Tawnykit, and Goldenflower felt. They felt that nobody really wanted them there because they all had ties to Tigerstar…. somehow.

When I had to tell Tigerstar that I was not like him, I felt scared. I thought _for sure_ that he would hunt me down and kill me once he was gone. But, no…. instead, he went after Firestar…. but he never got Firestar.

He killed many others, though. Brindleface, directly; Swiftpaw, indirectly; Stonefur, indirectly; Redtail, directly….

He killed so many.

There are more cats, like Gorsepaw, Runningwind, Whitethroat….

Too many cats. Too many deaths. Too much ambition. Too many tragedies…. it's all his fault.

And I'm not like him.

Now, he and Darkstripe rest in the Dark Forest…. and since I'm not like them, I will be going to StarClan. I'm glad. StarClan cats are cats that _know_ their place in the Clans, and don't try to get to the top by killing other cats.

I admire Firestar for what he did. I like to think that I'm like Firestar; strong, brave, loyal….

Each and every time I think of what Tigerstar did, I shudder. No cat should have had to die because of his ambition. ThunderClan shouldn't have had to get blasted by hate after Firestar stopped Tigerstar. It's all Tigerstar's fault.

Sorry, Tigerstar. But I'm not like you.


	30. Not impressed

**Yes, this one IS short; I had some difficulties with it, went away to do something else, came back again.... I just COULDN'T think of anything, so I ended it and dropped it. ;) 3 **

* * *

Not impressed

When my mate started to kill and hate because of his ambitions, I was _not_ impressed. Even if I loved him, I just…. didn't agree with what he was doing.

There was another one, too: Firestar: At first, he didn't believe in Tawnykit and Bramblekit—shuddered whenever he saw them, shied away from the nursery, constantly believed his camp was under attack from Tigerstar….

It was kind of funny, actually.

Tigerstar and Firestar are not the only ones I wasn't impressed with. One of them was…. Smallear. At first, I hated him for what he did. He practically chased Tawnypaw out of the Clan, for StarClan's sake! But I'm getting over it now…. it may still take some work, though.

I can never fully forgive Smallear for what he did. He cruelly teased Tawnypaw and made her think that ThunderClan didn't want her. And where, in the warrior code, is that fair?

Nowhere. Exactly. Smallear didn't like Tigerstar, but that _doesn't_ give him the right to tease my kits. I was relieved when we left him.

Tigerstar…. I shudder whenever I think of what he's done, to me and the Clans. I hate him for what he did…. to Bluestar, to Firestar, what his ambition inadvertently did to my kits….

But at the same time, I _do_ still love him. Oftentimes, I don't know what to think. I am still _constantly_ wondering to myself if loving him was _ever_ worth it.

Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw are good warriors; even though Tawnypelt is in ShadowClan now, she is strong and brave as a warrior. I am proud of her.

And Brambleclaw…. well, Brambleclaw is now the deputy of ThunderClan. I'm proud of him, too.

I am _extremely_ proud of both of my kits. I hope that feeling never fades.

I've gotten over my distrust of Firestar…. really, he _is_ a good leader.

Those three cats…. Firestar, Tigerstar, and Smallear…. did not impress me.

That will never change.


	31. Chosen One

**Ooh.... they're talking about The Chosen One. XD **

* * *

Chosen One

How would you feel if one of your friends was chosen to go on a trip—and you weren't?

How would you feel if your brother was special—and you weren't?

I've had that twice. First, with my brother Stonepaw, now Stonestep—Stonepaw was chosen as part of a prophecy; a prophecy that would save the Clans.

And I wasn't.

My friend, Birdwing, was chosen to go on a trip that would help Stonestep save the Clans—and, surprise, surprise; I _wasn't_.

I was _furious_ at the time. I mean, if you think of the way that the medicine cat, Pebblepool, broke the news to us, you'd be mad, too:

"_Stonekit, Flamekit; I have something to tell you," Pebblepool meowed seriously. "Come with me to the medicine cats' den."_

_Curiously, we bounced after him into the medicine cat den._

"_Sit here," Pebblepool ordered. We sat on a leaf in front of him._

"_So, what's the news?" Stonekit asked curiously._

"_Yeah, I wanna know!" I agreed._

_Pebblepool mewed hesitantly, "Your family is part of a prophecy."_

_I gasped. "That's great! We're part of a prophecy?! Stonekit, remember the stories of the Three; you know, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing; and how they helped save the warrior code and the Clans? We can be just like them! We can help cats, and—"_

_Pebblepool winced, and said, "No; sorry, Flamekit. Not you, just Stonekit. Stonekit is the only cat that is part of the prophecy."_

_I froze up in shock. "What—"_

"_I'm sorry, Flamekit, but it's true," Pebblepool said quietly, shaking his head despairingly._

Since then, I have been jealous. Oh, sure; I have warrior duties to do, and such; but Stonestep gets to do _special_ stuff. As part of the very important prophecy, he gets to have his _own_ den, with an apprentice of _his_ choice; he talks with the leader a lot; he gets to do what he wants. Basically, he gets to do everything that _I_ want to do.

And Birdwing; she, later, turned out to be part of the prophecy, too. Oh, I was raging mad. I was _jealous_. And, to make things even _more_ unfair, every other cat in the Clan seems to be special, too. Stonestep is the Chosen One. Birdwing and a bunch of _other_ cats are accessories in the prophecy: they get to do whatever they want.

And, even though I'm a warrior; that usually leaves _me_ stuck cleaning the elders' den, a chore I absolutely _hate_.

Why must everybody be _better_ than me? Why does everybody except me seem to be "Chosen"?

Why? _Why?_ I have never hated my brother for what happened, but sometimes….

_I_ want to be the Chosen One.


	32. It's all a game

***hollers and waves hands evilly in the air like Garfield does***

**It's the return of Dawnpaw, and.... get ready for some MAJOR evilly-o-ness!!!! :D **

**Also, btw; the totally original characters that _I_**** made WILL have their futures all tied up together.... I'm just not sure about who is going to rescue Dawnpaw yet. Maybe she will die. XD **

**Noooo, that's a HORRIBLE thought.... well, give me some ideas if you wish. ^^ **

* * *

It's all a game

Dawnpaw knew that, to her captors, it was all a game.

What is all a game? Torture. _Torture_ is all a game.

To them, torture is fun; torture is good; torture is fulfilling; torture is nice. All _Dawnpaw_ gets to do all day is wake up, eat a tiny piece of food in the morning, wait in her cage until sunhigh, get tortured, wait in her cage until evening, get tortured, eat a tiny piece of food at night, fall asleep.

It's not a life that you'd want to have; unless, of course, you're the captors torturing your poor prisoners.

****

Dawnpaw yawned and woke up slowly. She wasn't looking forward to the day of torturing ahead of her. Every day, all she did was stay in her cage and be tortured. The tiny bits of food that she was allowed weren't enough to keep her going. She was _hungry_. _Starving_, even.

But her captors didn't care; they had about fifteen _other_ cats to torture, too.

She sat in her cage, paws tucked under her chest. She had scars on her body and emotional scars in her mind. She had been clawed, bitten, and scratched many, many times. She had been raped many, many more times. She had already had one litter of kits, and since those kits were fathered by one of the Clan's best, Claw, they were becoming part of the group and they would be able to torture her, as well.

_Life isn't fair,_ Dawnpaw thought, _especially when you're being used by other cats for their own amusement._

Dawnpaw sat in her cage and watched the cats of the place she was now trapped in move around. She saw one of her captors open up another cat's cage and drag her out. The poor prisoner was dragged, screeching, off in the direction of her captor's den. Soon after, you could hear screams echoing throughout the area.

Dawnpaw shuddered. _I wonder if that's worse than being tortured right out in the open, for everyone to see…._

Suddenly, Rock was at her cage bars. "Ah, I see you're awake," he growled, his voice holding just a hint of happy menace. "Well, here's your morning meal."

Dawnpaw was allowed to eat a tiny piece of mouse. She gobbled it down quickly, finishing it in record time.

Rock laughed. "Well, Claw will be taking you to his den later. It seems the kits want to have a try on you."

Dawnpaw was scared. Her own _kits_ desperately wanted to torture her? Wow, this was absolutely _terrible!_

****

Later, Claw came to her cage bars. "Come on," he growled, dragging her off to his den. She let out high-pitched screams of terror as he dragged her. "I'm training the kits today. They're _finally_ old enough."

When they reached Claw's den, Dawnpaw's kits watched their arrival with wide eyes. There were two toms, and a she-cat.

"Right, then," Claw meowed, dragging Dawnpaw over to the centre of the den and pinning her down in the middle. "You can't do this to your own mother, but I'll show you two toms what to do if you want a she-cat to have kits."

Claw's eyes gleamed into Dawnpaw's as he positioned himself on top of her and stuck his thing into her pussy. She screeched in pain and pleasure as he went in and out, in and out.

Finally, it ended. "So, that's the way you do it, kits," Claw mewed, getting off of her. "All right, who wanted to try torturing her?"

All three kits bounced up and down, yowling, "Me! Me! Me!"

Claw laughed. "All right, then. You may _all_ try clawing your mother."

The little black tom positioned himself at Dawnpaw's head and put his paws on her ears. She felt his barely-unsheathed claws poking lightly into the flesh.

The little gray she-cat positioned herself at Dawnpaw's belly. Dawnpaw trembled in fear. This she-kit looked fierce!

The larger brown tom went up to Claw and quietly asked him something. Claw reluctantly nodded, and the brown tom went up and positioned himself above Dawnpaw's pussy.

"All right," Claw mewed. "Begin."

The black kit at her ears shoved his claws deep into her ears and then ripped his claws out. Dawnpaw screeched in pain as he did it again and again, leaving scars and nicks in her ears.

The gray she-cat at her belly sunk her claws deep into Dawnpaw's belly. She screeched in pain as the kit slowly dragged her claws down to her tail, then up to her neck, and then down to her tail, again and again. The she-kit laughed.

"This is fun!" she said.

The brown tom shoved his thing into her pussy and clawed at her rump. Dawnpaw screeched in pain.

"Please, stop!" she yowled. "_Stop!_"

_Finally,_ it was over.

"So, was that fun, kits?" Claw asked his kits later on.

"Yes!" the kits chorused.

"Remember, _mate,_" Claw said menacingly to Dawnpaw as he locked her back into her cage and clicked the latch closed. "To us, it's all a game."


	33. No way back

***hisses* Grr.... if it were up to me, Rainwhisker wouldn't have been killed. :( **

* * *

No way back

Once you're in StarClan, there's no way back. You're stuck here, for good. Sure, you can always give prophecies to cats and stuff—but it feels so much better to live.

It feels great to have _life_.

I am Rainwhisker, killed accidentally by a falling tree branch in a storm. I had been outside the camp, looking for prey, when a storm struck. I quickly hid underneath a tree.

I thought I was safe there. It terrified me when the tree was hit by lightning. I cowered on the ground, praying to StarClan that I wouldn't be killed.

Unfortunately, the tree fell down, crushing me under its weight. I let out a last screech before I died.

Thornclaw was also out with me. He was a little ways away. He heard my pained screech and came rushing to me. He found me, dead, and dragged my broken body back to camp.

Everybody mourned me.

I have asked many ancient cats in StarClan if you can ever go back to live with the warrior Clans again; if you can ever have _life_.

They all told me, "No."

And now I wonder: If StarClan had _really_ been watching over me that day, why did I die? I know it's a foolish question, but…. I want to know. I didn't _want_ to die. StarClan even told me that I didn't deserve to die yet.

But then, why did I? Why did I die? If I still had business to finish with the warrior Clans, why didn't they just let me go back?

But I know the answer. It's because I _can't_ go back. Unless your spirit is put in another cat's body as a kit, there's no way back. And besides, there's no point in doing that, because you'll just forget all your past endeavors, anyway.

Many cats, like Sootfur and Redtail, tell me that they wish that they could go back. They _want_ to go back to the Clans…. but they can't.

I never knew Redtail before I died—neither did Sootfur. Sootfur met Redtail when he died because Redtail welcomed him to StarClan. Bluestar welcomed _me_ to StarClan. Sootfur and Redtail are really great friends by now.

It's unfortunate, really. When you're dead, all you do is watch the cats down below you, back down on Earth. I _miss_ Earth, and I _miss_ being alive. I wish I _was_ alive, but….

Once you're dead, and in StarClan, there's no way back.


	34. Exile

**Say hello to the Ultimate Evily-o-ness: TREACHERY!!!! :D **

**Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!! XD **

**Well, here you have it, folks; a treachery chapter by *angels sing* ME!!!! :D **

**Wow.... I'm REALLY acting weird. I'm tired.... I MUST be going delusional. I just MUST be!!!! :o | O.o; **

**By the way; the next chapter is (TECHNICALLY!!!!) a continuation of this one, so read eagerly! ;3 ;) **

Exile

Nightfoot hid it well. Oh, everybody thought he was a great, loyal warrior. No one thought him capable of betraying them.

But he did it for his own ambition. He betrayed them because _he_ wanted to be leader. He wanted to be leader of _all_ of the Clans one day, in fact.

He already had it all planned out: the strongest cats would be Elite warriors, strong she-cats and she-cats would be warriors, weaker she-cats and toms would be hunters, kits and apprentices would be slaves until they were warriors, female slaves would be mating tools, elders would advise him….

It was perfect. But somehow, it was all destroyed.

The cats in Twolegplace already had some form of monarchy; very similar to the one Nightfoot had planned, in fact. Many of them already _had_ slaves and mates. Nightfoot had visited them cold, foggy day in leaf-bare and explained his idea to them. Happily enough, they had agreed.

They had planned to attack seven days later. So, Nightfoot's plan was to be hunting, and at around sunhigh they would come into the territory.

When he saw the rogues, as they had all planned, he ran away; he ran, screeching, through the territory, "Rogue attack! ROGUE ATTACK!!!"

When he got to the camp, he gasped out, "Rogue attack! We need everybody to be fighting!"

The deputy, Blazefire, gasped, "Redstar is in her den, sleeping! We must fight to protect her!"

Nightfoot chuckled inwardly. This would be _easy_.

A few heartbeats later, the rogues reached the camp.

"Attack!" the leader of the rogues, Rock, yowled.

"Attack!" screeched Blazefire. "We must fight! Hurry!"

Within moments, the clearing descended into rolling, fighting balls of cats. Only screeching could be heard and fur flew everywhere.

That left just Blazefire and Nightfoot, facing each other.

"Nightfoot," Blazefire gasped. "Go fight!"

"Okay," Nightfoot hissed manically, grinning. He leaped forward and pinned Blazefire down. "This whole time, I was on the rogues' side. I am planning to take over the Clan. Good-bye, now. Send my regards to StarClan."

The deputy struggled, but it was no use. Nightfoot was stronger than him. Nightfoot easily bent down and gently bit his throat out.

The deputy flailed his paws one last time. His eyes glazing over and blood pouring out of his throat like a river, he looked up to the sky and gasped, "Pinkflower, I love you. And I'm coming."

Nightfoot let go of the body in disgust, and bounded over to the leader's den. There were not as many cats as before. Bodies from both Clan cats _and_ the rogues littered the clearing.

Sitting calmly inside her den was Redstar. Teeth bared and claws unsheathed excitedly, ready for the kill, Nightfoot stalked into the den.

"Why; hello there, Nightfoot," greeted Redstar. "How is the battle doing?"

"Good," Nightfoot growled, trembling with anticipation. Finally, ThunderClan would be his!

Redstar let out a purr. "That's wonderful! I'm really tired, though; I must be getting to sleep—"

"No." Nightfoot leaped closer to her. "No. I'm taking over this Clan tonight. _I_ brought in the rogues. I'm planning to kill you, and I already killed Blazefire. After I kill you, I'm taking over the Clan!"

Redstar blinked, as his words sunk in. Suddenly, she leaped up. "How _dare_ you?!"

"It's too late for that, Redstar," Nightfoot purred, leaping onto her and pinning her down. "Send my regards to StarClan."

He bent down to bite her throat out, like he did with Blazefire…. and somebody crashed into him.

"Rosepetal!" he hissed, spinning around to face her.

"You will _not_ kill Redstar! I will _not_ let you have your ambitions!" the fiery, fearless she-cat hissed.

"Oh, yes; I will," he purred menacingly. He leaped at her, but she was too fast for him. The tiny she-cat leaped aside.

Redstar retreated to the corners of her den in fear; watching everything that was happening.

Nightfoot and Rosepetal battled it out. Nightfoot raced toward her, but she leaped up and landed on his back. He screamed in agony as she held on with two feet and clawed him with the other.

In an attempt to get her off, he flipped over onto his belly, but she jumped off and landed on his belly.

_Why isn't this working?!_ he thought desperately. He screamed in agony once again as she sunk her claws deep into his belly. His vicious back wounds pressed against the floor, and he screamed once again.

Rosepetal tortured him, and he could feel himself getting weaker and weaker. Finally, Rosepetal called, "Brackenpelt!" and the older, bigger warrior came and, at Rosepetal's command, dragged him out of the den and onto the Highrock.

Rosepetal urged Redstar to come out of her den and exile Nightfoot. The leader heaved herself to her feet and struggled up onto the Highrock.

Seeing their injured leader, the rogues fled. Nightfoot spat at the cats gathering below to look up at him and hear Redstar's words.

"Cats of ThunderClan, I tell you a sad revelation today: it was _Nightfoot_ who brought the rogues into our camp," announced Redstar.

Screeches of, "Traitor!" and "Killer!" filled the camp. Redstar signaled with her tail for them all to quiet down, and they did.

"He killed Blazefire, and he tried to kill me. If it were not for Rosepetal, I would have died. Therefore, I have something to say." She paused and swallowed.

Redstar announced, "I saw these words before the body of Blazefire, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice. Rosepetal will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

Rosepetal gasped, and cheers filled the air: "Rosepetal! Rosepetal!"

"As for you, Nightfoot," Redstar yowled, "You're exiled!"

Nightfoot padded slowly out of the ThunderClan camp; the disgusted cats parted for him to go through.

_I'm exiled,_ was his last thought before he left the clearing for good.


	35. Well enough alone

**Well, this Chapter Continuation idea.... it was perfect! ^^ **

**And I _like it_****.**** O.o; **

* * *

Well enough alone

Nightfoot had just been exiled out of ThunderClan. He was alone in the forests upstream of ThunderClan; he had no plans to go to Twolegplace just _yet_.

_See; I'll show them. I can do well enough alone!_ Nightfoot thought angrily.

For three days and two nights, Nightfoot wandered the forest alone. He started clearing out a sunny, sheltered glade in the middle of the forest for his den and his nest.

_This might actually be big enough to support a Clan,_ he thought. _It's rather large, and I'm only using _part_ of it for my den, after all…. I'm just using the part under the overhanging rocks. That's it._

But still, Nightfoot was under the illusion that he would be fine with no one to guide him along in life.

However, after having lived in a Clan for so long, he was kind of unfamiliar with all the silence.

_It's nice,_ he thought, _but I would _probably_ prefer to hear voices…. and rustling from the nursery…. and the elders' tales…._

He started to miss not having anyone to talk to. He started talking to himself, and on the third day he realized what was wrong.

He flicked his tail with barely-concealed satisfaction as it hit him:

_I need to be around other cats. I _can't_ survive alone; I just _can't_._

So, his plan for being well enough alone had failed. He _couldn't_ be alone. After living in a Clan for so long, he just _needed_ to be with other cats!

With that realization, he _immediately_ started to get ready for his rather long journey. He ate and rested until sunhigh, and with that he was off.

****

At sunset, he _finally_ reached Twolegplace.

He loped into the clearing, worried that they would try to attack him because they had lost. But, they didn't. _Instead,_ Rock came tiredly out of a den to greet him.

"Oh, hi, Nightfoot," he greeted the white tom with one black paw. "How are you doing?"

"Fine; and…." Nightfoot looked around at the sorry groups of cats in the clearing. There were cats in cages at the edges of the clearing; they had scars all over their bodies and a few still had blood dripping from their wounds.

There were cats in front of the cages, huddled up together, eating, or just sitting there.

"What's wrong?" Nightfoot finally finished.

"Oh, well; they're still shocked that they _lost_. Some of them hate you now, so be careful when you visit," Rock explained.

"N-No, i-it isn't that…." Nightfoot began, flustered. "It's just that I found a perfect spot for a camp! We can live there, and it's not that far from the Clans, and we can take over, and…."

Rock looked at him. "I'm sorry to say it, Nightfoot, but we're perfectly happy where we are. You should join _us_. If we moved, we'd have to move _all _those slaves' cages, and…. it would just be too hard."

Nightfoot bowed his head. "It's okay…. I understand. I'm sorry. I _could_ join you, of course…. if you wish it."

Rock nodded. "I'd like that. I have an extra cardboard box somewhere that you can keep as your den; we have an extra cage lying around somewhere, too. You can live in the box and we can move the cage out of the storage area to where all the _others_ are, and you can house your slave in that. What do you think?"

Nightfoot nodded. "I think that's a _great_ idea. Oh, and we should plan to take over the Clans. One day…. I was planning to do that."

Rock nodded again. "That's a good idea," he said.

So, Nightfoot could _not_ do well enough alone. But _now_, he was happy with the Twolegplace cats…. and he would stay that way.

He wasn't alone. He was not alone anymore.


	36. Disappear

**I need reviews, people. REVIEWS!!!! :D :) **

**Btw; this is supposed to be another one of my "melancholy deformity death" stories. I hope you enjoy! :D **

* * *

Disappear

Sometimes I want to just disappear.

Disappear; like, gone with the wind; be swallowed up by a hole in the ground…. anything.

I don't _want _to stay here with the Clans. I look _hideous_.

I am Smallpaw. When I was born, I had terrible deformities: a stub for a leg; I was missing an eye; there was no fur on my front left paw, just a bone.

Many cats thought me creepy, or weird. Many cats still tease me for that today; sometimes I want to just…. _disappear_….

I _hate_ my life here in ThunderClan. I absolutely _hate_ it. Many warriors think me as a bad omen; they won't even come near me. The apprentices tease me relentlessly. The queens keep their kits away from me.

I am hideously deformed. And you know what else?

_I am Half-Clan._

Oh, it was a _terrible, terrible_ day when I found that out. My mother, Sparkface, revealed that to me one cold, drab day in leaf-bare.

"_Smallpaw," my mother asked me. "Can you come out into the forest with me, please?"_

She took me out into the forest.

"_Sure," I said. "Just let me finish this vole first." I finished my vole, shook the snowflakes off my pelt, and trotted into the forest as quickly as my deformities would let me._

_As I passed by them, Ravenpaw and Bluepaw laughed._

"_Going out into the forest, cripple?" Ravenpaw laughed. "You'll probably just die out there!"_

"_Yeah!" Bluepaw agreed. "The cripple; not able to handle the cold!"_

_I ignored them and just limped on past._

_When I got out into the forest, my mother was waiting for me. We sat down in a small hollow just outside the camp entrance._

"_Smallpaw," my mother began, "I have to tell you something."_

_I nodded. "Go on."_

"_You know that I'm your mother, right?" Sparkface began slowly._

_I nodded again. "Yep."_

"_Well, you know Liontail of WindClan?" my mother asked, her eyes full of pain._

"_Yeah…." I murmured slowly._

"_Well, he is your father," Sparkface said firmly. "I'm sorry, Smallpaw." She studied my face._

_It took a moment for the information to sink in, and then I startled. "Wh-What!" I gasped._

"_I'm sorry, Smallpaw, but it's true," Sparkface admitted sadly._

I still get upset whenever I think about it.

****

Moons passed. One day, I noticed that a she-cat called Briarface was taking a particular interest in me.

A few moons later, she came up to me and confessed her love for me.

_A few moons later, we had kits._

Yes, that's right; _kits_. Sweet, lovely, little kits; all of which will bounce around and yip and yap around happily until you tell them to be quiet.

Briarface and I love each other _so_ much. Best of all, the Clan has started to accept me more! Our kits are named Greenkit, Lakekit, and Flowerkit.

Our happy little family is the best one I could ever wish for.

I no longer want to disappear.


	37. One step closer

**Well, all of my most recent chapters are SHORT!!!! :) **

**Like, under-300-words short. :/ **

**I don't know exactly HOW that happened; I think my brain is dying. XD **

**This chapter shows a side of Tawnypelt when they were about to reach the sun-drown-place, and then, at the end, a bit of a childish nature that I think she has. XD **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

One step closer

With each step….

….I got one step closer.

Anticipation….

….Flowed through my body as I walked.

I knew that….

….We were almost there.

I heard Brambleclaw heave a deep sigh.

I heard Feathertail gasp.

I heard Stormfur panting.

I heard Squirrelpaw bouncing.

I heard myself walking.

Who am I? Oh…. I'm Tawnypelt. I'm one of the cats who went on the journey to the sun-drown-place and back to save the Clans. I'm a warrior of ShadowClan, and proud of it.

When we went on the journey, at first, I was unsure and afraid—not typical for a ShadowClan cat, but possible. We traveled quickly, walking through Twoleg areas, farms, and fields. It was on that journey that we met Purdy. I've heard that he lives in ThunderClan now, but I can't be sure.

Throughout that long, long journey, I thought about a lot of things. Like, was the old forest going to be okay until we came back? What about the Clans? Would _they_ survive?

But one of the things that was foremost in my mind was that we were almost there.

_Almost there._

With each step, we were one step closer.

One step closer, all the time.

Now, would we ever _get_ there?!


	38. Had enough

**317 words! ^^ **

**....This is horrible. :/ **

**Enjoy! ^^ In my _NORMAL_**** books, a slave doesn't just "run away" from her masters and tell them so. O.o; But _AT LEAST_**** he is planning to capture her. Capturing is good. :D **

* * *

Had enough

"I've had enough!" the slave cried, running away from her master. "I want to go home! I don't _want_ to stay here! I'm bound by _StarClan_, not _you!_"

Her old master watched her go, monstrous cunning in his eyes.

"Go, then, my slave," he said quietly. "But I'll be back! I'll capture you again, and it won't be pretty!"

****

Leopardpaw was always wondering where her friend, Stripepaw, was.

"Oh, Stripepaw," she whispered every night. "I wish you could be back here!" And then she fell asleep. Her dreams were dominated with images of she and Stripepaw romping together in the fields, having fun the whole time.

****

The former slave dashed through the forest.

_There's not a moment to lose,_ she thought desperately. _He could be after me _already_!_

She _knew_ that she could reach the Clans from here…. she had to keep traveling, no rest stops…. what if he caught up to her and bound her while she was sleeping? She would be stuck, yet again.

****

Leopardpaw was hunting at the edge of the territory one cool, crisp morning in leaf-bare. All of a sudden, that familiar scent came back to her.

She sniffed, not quite placing it. And then, she knew….

_Stripepaw!_ Leopardpaw thought joyfully. _You're back!_

She bounded over to the edge of the territory and peered into the deep, dark forest. And then…. she saw a striped pelt dashing toward her through the darkness!

"Stripepaw!" she called happily.

"Leopardpaw!" the shape called, eagerly.

They dashed towards each other and nuzzled each other.

"What happened to you?!" Leopardpaw exclaimed. "I've missed you so much!"

"I used to be a slave—" Stripepaw began.

"What?! That's terrible!" Leopardpaw gasped.

"But I had enough, so I came home," Stripepaw purred.

Stripepaw had had enough, Leopardpaw knew. So she came home.


	39. Just go away

**Aww, poor Frostkit! ^^ **

**You'll see what I mean in a minute. ;3 **

**This is so SAD.... ;) :( 3: **

* * *

Just go away

The battle raged on outside the nursery. Applekit cowered at the back of the dark nursery in fear.

"I hope the battle is over soon," she whispered to her friend, Frostkit.

"I hope so, too," he agreed. The normally-strong Frostkit was sick with a cold; they had to keep him safe.

It was warm and dry inside but Applekit could hear the rain pounding outside the nursery. The entrance had been closed off with brambles but they were still afraid that at any moment an enemy rogue cat would come bursting into the nursery.

Applekit and Frostkit were resting, just waiting for the battle to be over—it was taking a _long_ time—when, all of a sudden, they were woken up by a large _crash!_

Applekit startled. "No! Wait! Who is it?!" she gasped. She had been dreaming quite vividly. In her dream she was shrouded in darkness, and then, all of a sudden, a light appeared….

"Ah," the mystery cat sneered. "Kits. Perfect for my job."

Frostkit jumped towards the cat, shielding Applekit. "No! You'll _never_ get us! Stay away from Applekit!" he caterwauled.

"Ah, but I can't," the mysterious rogue whispered menacingly. "I need to keep you…. I need to hurt you…. I need to sell you…. I need to kill you…."

It leaped towards them. Applekit screamed.

"NO! HELP!" she yowled, as Frostkit bravely fought with the large tom. "HELP US!"

Ah, but she was wrong to think that anyone would help them. Frostkit was just a rogue—he didn't mean much to _them_. He had been born a rogue, and had accidentally stumbled across the Clans when he was one moon old. His mother, he said, had taken him out into the forest and he had gotten lost.

He was ever-grateful to the Clan for taking him in.

But many cats didn't really care about him. Their _other_ kits were much more important, compared to him.

A warrior burst into the nursery. It was Applekit's father.

Taking no notice of Frostkit, he screamed, "Applekit! Come with me!" and began herding her away.

Applekit struggled against his grip, screaming, "NO! LET ME GO! FROSTKIT!"

Later, when the battle was over, Applekit dashed back into the nursery. Frostkit's body was just lying there, battered and broken. He was so mangled it was hard to tell it was him, but it was Frostkit, all right. There were scars all over his body, and his throat had been torn out. His neck was still leaking blood.

Applekit gently nosed the body, and dragged it out into the clearing. She settled Frostkit's body beside all the other dead cats, and stuck her nose into his fur.

"Applekit," her mother urged her. "Come away from there. Come mourn the deputy, instead." She cast a disdainful glance towards Frostkit's body.

"No," Applekit replied tearfully. "Leave me alone."

"Applekit…." her mother said gently. "He doesn't matter. Now, come on."

"_No,_" Applekit insisted. "He was my _friend_. Father _could_ have saved him, but he didn't. Leave me alone."

"Applekit…." her mother's voice was disapproving now.

"No." Applekit stood up, standing firm. "He was my friend, and I'll see him on his journey to StarClan. I _won't_ leave him. Now, _leave me alone_!!!"

She lay done, and stuck her nose back into Frostkit's fur. She breathed in the last of Frostkit's scent as his body got colder, colder, and became stiff; to be that way forever.

Her little sister, Whitekit, came up to her and started to say something, but Applekit didn't listen.

_Leave me alone,_ she thought. _Just, please; leave me alone._


	40. Typical

**Aww, nobody likes Frostkit. :( **

**This is a continuation of the last chap****ter, in _Frostkit's_**** POV, just so you know. ^^ **

**Well, then; enjoy! ^^ :D :3 **

* * *

Typical

Of course. It was typical. Nobody cared about him.

_Him. Frostkit._

He had one best friend, and that was it. Applekit. Applekit was his best friend since he came. Her forgiving nature, her kind words….

She was everything that he could want. But she was the only one who seemed to like him.

Before he was killed in the battle, Frostkit could recall a brief moment of hope:

He had been fighting to protect Applekit. Applekit had been screeching in fear, obviously hoping that someone would help them. _Them._

But it didn't happen. Applekit's father had come into the nursery, but had taken no notice of Frostkit. He cast a disdainful look at the rogue kit, and saved Applekit instead.

_Only_ Applekit.

Why only Applekit? Why not Frostkit, as well? He had plenty of room on his paws. He could have _easily_ fought off the tom—the rogue tom was much smaller than him. Applekit's father could _easily_ have killed him, and saved Frostkit along with Applekit.

But he didn't. He let Frostkit die.

Typical.


	41. Stonger than me

**Ugh. This chapter was just.... DEATHLY.**

**Seriously. This chapter practically KILLED me.**

**It was so confusing. :/ **

* * *

Stronger than me

From the first moment I met him, I knew he was stronger than me. Even though he was a kittypet.

But I secretly loved him.

I led Dustpaw on to believe I loved _him_; sure. But secretly, deep down….

I loved Firepaw.

I always thought, _Firepaw this,_ and _Firepaw that._ Even when I was telling Dustpaw I loved him, I was thinking about Firepaw.

Firepaw _is_ stronger than me—he could lead a whole Clan. And I probably could, too; but I don't think I could do it in the same way that Firestar does.

When I met Firestar, he was just a kittypet. A lame, little kittypet. I could see his confusion as I spat at him; feel his hurt as I teased him.

And yet, _why_ did I do it?

I wanted Dustpaw to believe I loved him.

Dustpaw believed that I loved _him_, even though, deep down, I thought he was a whining little furball.

I love Firestar. _Not_ Dustpelt.

And he will always be stronger than me.


	42. Rival

**Well, I like this chapter. ^^ Even if it IS only 243 words. O.o; **

**Still; this is what Squirrelflight REALLY thought! ^^ (Or 'thunk,' a word I just made up now. ^^; )**

* * *

Rival

I was the object of _both_ Brambleclaw and Ashfur for a while.

Brambleclaw was Ashfur's rival.

Ashfur was _Brambleclaw's_ rival.

Yet, even though Brambleclaw's father _was_ Tigerstar; and Ashfur tried as hard as he could to convince me that Brambleclaw was _bad_ because of that, I still loved him.

Why? Because Brambleclaw has a good heart. And…. I found out later that Ashfur actually _doesn't_.

During the fire, I confessed to Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather that I was not their mother. Ashfur overheard, and threatened to tell my secret, and crush my family's goodwill; all because I didn't pick _him_, instead.

Brambleclaw wouldn't do that, I know. He would just wait patiently until I decided to come to _him_, instead. And if I didn't…. he wouldn't mind, either. He'd know what's best for me.

But Ashfur…. my rejection of him twisted his heart and his mind. He turned into a cat that I didn't recognize. He hated Lionblaze, because he thought that Lionblaze was my kit…. and I'm almost happy that he's dead now.

_Almost._

Because, it was _my_ confession that caused this. Hollyleaf was so distraught that she was half-Clan that she killed him. And….

That's not right.

I've always preferred Brambleclaw over Ashfur…. even if I seemed to like _Ashfur_ better at the moment, deep-down, I knew that I had _always_ loved Brambleclaw better.

Ashfur and Brambleclaw were rivals.

I was the object of their affections.

And I chose Brambleclaw.


	43. It's not my time

***dies* Ugh.... I don't think I can go on.**

***shoots up suddenly from where she is lying down (which I'm not doing, really)* Wait, WHAT?!?! I'm NOT giving up!!!! :D I will NOT, and NEVER give up!!!! I will NOT!!!! :D **

**Speaking of which, today is my second-last day of school! ^^ **

**And tomorrow is the last! And I DON'T have to wear my uniform to school tomorrow! ^^ **

**....I'M DONE WITH THE EVIL UNIFORMS!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! :D **

* * *

It's not my time

A small group of cats stood on the shore of the river. A silver she-cat was lying, screeching, in between them, and blood was flowing around her like a river.

"It's…. not my time," Silverstream panted. "It's not my time to die."

"No, it's not!" Graystripe agreed desperately. "Cinderpelt; _do_ something!"

"I'm trying!" Cinderpelt gasped. She was helping Silverstream with her kitting…. but she was dying.

Graystripe stared desperately into Silverstream's eyes. "Silverstream…. don't leave me."

Silverstream got weaker and weaker by the second. "Graystripe…. I must."

_I wish I didn't have to leave you,_ she thought. _I _love_ you, Graystripe; and don't you _ever_ forget that._

Fireheart watched sadly as Silverstream's life slowly left her. _I wish she didn't have to die,_ he thought. _Graystripe will be _devastated_._

Cinderpelt tried desperately to save Silverstream, but she was getting weaker by the second.

_No, Silverstream…._ she thought. _Please, _please_ don't leave me now. I…. Graystripe _needs_ you. _I_ need you to live. My career as a medicine cat will be _ruined_ if you die._

She looked at the meager supply of herbs that she had brought, thinking now that perhaps none of them would work.

And what if that happened?

The pool of blood around Silverstream got redder and redder, as Silverstream got weaker and weaker. Her struggles grew weaker, and she had less energy to scream.

"No!" Graystripe's voice was distraught. "Silverstream, _please_…. don't leave me now."

"I'm sorry, Graystripe," Silverstream panted. "I…. don't want…. to…. leave you now, but…. I must…. take good…. care of the…. kits for me, please…. good-bye, Graystripe…." Her eyes closed, and she gave one last wail and lay still—forever.

Graystripe let out a heartbroken yowl. "Silverstream! _No!_"

Fireheart tried desperately to comfort him as the two surviving kits mewled sadly and Cinderpelt cleaned up her supplies.

"It's okay, Graystripe; I'm so sorry," Fireheart consoled his friend sadly. "But you'll get over it…. in time."

"I don't think I'll _ever_ get over it," Graystripe sniffled.

Cinderpelt quietly cleaned up her supplies. _I'm ruined,_ she thought. _I let her die._

Silverstream stared down from StarClan sadly.

_It was not my time to die,_ she thought sadly. _It's not my time._


	44. Hurt

**Ooh, he's been REJECTED!!!!!!! :D **

* * *

Hurt

When Squirrelflight rejected him, Ashfur was hurt beyond belief.

There was a hole in his heart where Squirrelflight's happy, glowing face used to be. Now, it was gone. She was with Brambleclaw now.

The spot was just…. empty.

Ashfur would be hunting out in the forest, and he would suddenly stop and flop down on the ground, bawling, "Squirrelflight. Oh, Squirrelflight. I miss you _so_ much."

His despair was overwhelming him, and he began to change:

Despair turned into anger.

Anger turned into fury.

Fury turned into the will for revenge.

Ashfur was not the cat he used to be. Mentoring Lionpaw was a painful chore for him now; he _hated_ all of Squirrelflight's kits.

Jaypaw, in his opinion, was a worthless blind medicine cat.

Hollypaw was a crazy warrior-code-obsessed warrior apprentice, who had _wanted_ to be a medicine cat but gave it up later to be a warrior.

And Lionpaw; Lionpaw was a supposedly strong warrior apprentice who annoyed Ashfur to no end.

Ashfur _wanted_ to have Squirrelflight be his mate. He _wanted _her. He already had plans for kits….

A golden she-cat would be named Goldenkit; a golden tom would be Sunkit.

A gray she-cat would be Pebblekit; a golden tom would be Stonekit.

A black she-cat would be Skykit; a black tom would be Nightkit.

A brown she-cat would be Maplekit; a brown tom would be Treekit.

Ashfur wondered if Squirrelflight would like—would_ have_ liked, he reminded himself—the names that he had picked out.

Ashfur had been wounded when Squirrelflight had rejected him. He despised Brambleclaw, but one day, he made one last attempt to get Squirrelflight.

He agreed with Brambleclaw in a Clan meeting to see if Squirrelflight would see that _he_ was a good cat, too, but she just stared at him; her eyes said: _What are you trying to pull here?_

And he didn't believe that would ever change.

He was forever wounded since Squirrelflight had rejected him.


	45. Misfortune

**Short, but again; I think it's good. :D It shows another side of Redstar that maybe you weren't able to see before.... :D **

***sings randomly, since my brain is dead and that is absolutely ALL that I can think of right now....* _The bees are buzzin' in the tree, to make some honey just for me. And when you look under the rocks and plants, and take a glance at the fancy ants, and maybe.... try a few._**

**_The bare necessities of life will come to you! They'll come to you!_**

**:D **

* * *

Misfortune

Misfortune.

It's a funny thing, really.

I never imagined the consequences when my Clan leaped into battle alongside me. We just…. fought.

And we lost.

I can't believe I was so reckless. And recklessness, _for sure_, _is_ the path to misfortune and failure!!!

I must emphasize how much I _didn't_ want this. I never expected to lose the battle—most of my Clan was decimated; we leaped into battle with thirty warriors and fifteen apprentices, and we came _out_ with only nine warriors and two apprentices. Our enemies are much stronger than we are.

My mate _wasn't_ killed, luckily; he ran away to Sunningrocks to keep the kits and queens and elders safe, along with two other warriors and three younger apprentices.

We only have eleven warriors, and five apprentices—_eleven; five!_—now. Ever since we lost the battle, we have been shocked beyond belief. I miss my deputy; he was killed during the battle.

This is all Nightfoot's fault.

I am Redstar, leader of ThunderClan, and I know now that misfortune is a funny thing that can't be calculated beforehand.

This sucks.


	46. Listen to me

**OMG GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!! ^^; **

**I have two things to say. XD **

**1 is: I am done up to Chapter 55, and I am still currently WORKING on Chapter 56, so you'd better watch out! ^^; **

**_You'd better watch out,_**

**_You'd better not cry!_**

**_You'd better not pout and I'm tellin' you why._**

**_Because Amberleaf's going to win. 8D _**

**XD ANYWAYS....**

**2 is: OMG WHILE I WAS IN BIBLE CAMP WE WERE SUPPOSED TO WRITE LETTERS TO SOMEBODY THAT WE APPRECIATED!!!! That was on.... July 6th - July 10th, I believe. *shifty eyes* And I ACTUALLY sent a letter to the Prime Minister (because I am just OBSESSED with politics! XD) AND I ACTUALLY GOT A REPLY!!!! ^^; Yays. 8D And I EVEN GOT A SIGNED PICTURE OF STEPHEN HARPER!!!! OMG!!!! It's on the wall, above my computer. But now I keep staring at it and not wanting to do absolutely ANYTHING because I'm worried that that picture actually has REAL eyes and that it's staring at me. Nice going, Amberleaf.... Nice going. XD But I still love the PICTURE! ^^; **

**_Chapter word count:_**** 478******

* * *

Listen to me

"_Listen to me, Redstripe," the gray tom pleaded as he followed after her. "Please."_

_The tabby she-cat didn't even look back as she strode purposefully through the forest. "No."_

"_But _why_???" the tom demanded. "I didn't do anything wrong."_

_There was a scary pause for a moment as they both listened to their thoughts._

"_Yes, you did," Redstripe hissed suddenly, whipping around to face him. "Your alley cats tried to take over my entire _Clan_! That's not right!"_

"_Listen, Redstripe," the gray tom begged her. "Please. It wasn't _my _decision—everybody else wanted to overtake the Clans. _Not_ me. I had no choice…."_

"_Oh, please." Redstripe snorted. "I'm supposed to believe _that_? You alley cats are all the same—doing what you want and then making up crazy _lies_ and _excuses_ for it. Excuses, excuses, and more excuses—you are all cheaters. What more will you cheaters ever be?"_

"_No! We're not cheaters, we're—" the gray tom started to protest. Angrily, Redstripe cut him off._

"No,_" she hissed. "Save your breath. Save your breath for someone that you _really_ care about!"_

_And with that, she dashed out of Twolegplace and back to the camp._

Hmm…. just looking back on that, I'm thinking that maybe I acted too harshly.

I treated Gray…. I treated him like I treated Nightfoot when I exiled him—I didn't give him a chance. And I'm thinking that _maybe_ it isn't fair. _Maybe_ it was unjust.

But _those_ cats were unjust! _They_ were the ones who cheated on me…. the ones who plotted against me.

Gray was the cat who was actually with _another_ she-cat. He didn't _mean_ for me to stumble across it; I know. I just walked into the camp and there he was, purring and eating with the other she-cat. Later, I followed them, and I saw them go into his den, and start to mate. They both purred and said, "I love you," a lot.

_Anyways,_ I walked _right_ in on them while they were mating. Gray jumped off the she-cat—I think her name was Strawberry—and cried, "Oh, I'm so sorry, my love; Redstripe! I'm just friends with Strawberry, here."

I stopped in my tracks. "No," I hissed. "It _can't_ be true." And, with that, I dashed out of there, and Gray followed me.

He tried to convince me that he was all right, that he was okay. But, _noooo_, I didn't fall for that. Why should I? He's just a lying piece of foxdung. I should have known it all along.

And Nightfoot…. well, you already know his story—he tried to plot against me to take over the Clan.

But it didn't work.

Listen to me, Nightfoot, Gray; listen to me when I say this: _Save your breath for someone who cares_.


	47. Standing Still

**Kind of lame.... _ But, hey! I LIKE it! ^^; **

**Also, I forgot to tell you in the LAST chapter, but OMG I ORDERED A LAPTOP FROM DELL (the Inspiron 1545 with the T6500 Core 2 Duo Processor; it's the best one out there! ^^;) AND IT'S STILL IN PRODUCTION BUT IT SHOULD BE COMING ON AUGUST 26TH!!!! At least, that's the expected delivery date!!!! YAYS!!!! ^^;**

**And now, you may all hate the chapter that is sitting in front of you! YAAAAAAAAAAAAYZ!!!! ^^; **

**.... ._.;**

**_Chapter word count:_**** 363 D: (_short_****)**

* * *

Standing still

_I'm standing still_

_There's nothing to do_

_Especially not_

_When I left you_

I'm waiting for you, Crowfeather…. please come out….

We're leaving soon. I hope you agree with my choice.

You wanted to leave in the first place. Are you sure you don't have any second thoughts?

_I miss you, I miss you_

_But I have things to do_

_They're too important_

_To forfeit for you_

Good? Okay; let's go.

Let's go over the hills…. let's see if we can't find a home there.

I _want _to have kits, Crowfeather. I _want_ to be your mate, Crowfeather. I had to leave StarClan for you…. are you sure you're okay?

We can find a home in a forest. We can make a little camp. We can have a special den. We can have cute little kits.

_You know I'm sorry_

_I miss you so much_

_But you must understand_

_That's my life_

Hey, _I_ have an idea…. we can make a Clan!

We could maybe call it LeafClan.... after me. Or maybe even CrowClan…. after you. _You'll_ be the leader, after all—I'll just be the medicine cat. In our new Clan, we can _change_ the law in the warrior code that says that medicine cats can't have kits. We can rightfully have kits!

_The life of a medicine cat is very difficult_

_We can't take a mate, we can't have kits…._

Oh, look! We're almost there! Let's hurry, shall we? It's just a place to rest for the night…. but it's a start. Look, I see trees way in the distance.

_I miss you; I never wanted to leave you!_

_I want to have you back!_

_(But that's impossible now)_

_I want you; I want you!_

But later…. all these thoughts vanished, for the badgers attacked ThunderClan and we had to go back…. back to the Clans.

Back to the place we had wanted to leave in the first place.

I'm forever standing still; constantly waiting for you to come back. I'm waiting for you to come back so that we can leave again.

And this time, we'll stay away.

_So badly…. I want you_

_I'll miss you forever_

_Remember that_


	48. What!

**Sad. :( **

**_Chapter word count:_**** 437 :/ **

* * *

What?!

One sunny morning in greenleaf, Sunpaw was just happily waking up in the ThunderClan camp. She stumbled out of the apprentices' den upon standing up and basked in the sunlight, stretching her muscles.

"Good morning," her soon-to-be mate, Lionpaw, purred as he passed by.

"Good morning!" Sunpaw greeted him cheerily.

"See, _that's_ what I like about you, Sunpaw," Lionpaw said suddenly. "You're always so _happy_ and…. and _sunny_."

"I just find lots of things to be cheerful about!" Sunpaw mewed happily.

"Well, that's good. At least it shows that you're not depressed—unlike Ravenpaw!" Lionpaw meowed inquisitively.

The two of them shared a good laugh over that.

"I don't want to be like Ravenpaw, _ever!_" Sunpaw meowed, her eyes wide.

"Neither do I," Lionpaw laughed. "I—"

Suddenly, a ThunderClan warrior from the dawn patrol burst into the camp! His fur was bloody and he was panting hard.

"ShadowClan—attacked—at the border…."he panted. "Send…. help—right _away_."

"What?!" Sunpaw jumped up and gasped. "We just _gave_ them some more territory!"

"They want more," Nightstorm explained wearily. "They think that we're weak; therefore, they want to take even _more_ territory from us."

"Oh, no; that's _terrible!_" Sunpaw gasped.

"I know it is," Nightstorm agreed. "That's why we must fight to show our strengths."

Meanwhile, the leader, Cloudstar, was asking the warrior, Berryfoot, what had happened.

Berrynose explained easily enough:

"ShadowClan attacked…. there were only three of us on the dawn patrol; ShadowClan brought ten warriors…. we need to get back there! _Fast!_" he yowled.

"Right, then. I, Sunpaw, Lionpaw, Nighstorm, Birdwing, Mousefoot, Darkclaw, Onestripe, and Lightspots will go. Hurry!" Cloudstar yowled, racing out of the camp.

The warrior patrol raced through the forest. When they got to the site of the border dispute, Cloudstar stopped abruptly, digging his claws into the ground. The rest of the cats all bumped into him, and he almost fell over.  
"WHAT?!" the leader yowled, staring at the scene in front of him.

There, in front of Cloudstar, were lying Ravenpaw and Chickenfoot, dead.

"This has gone beyond a border fight!" hissed Cloudstar, to two ShadowClan cats that were standing right in front of them. "You killed one of our warriors! ATTACK!"

"Attack!" hissed the ShadowClan leader, Flamestar, as he leaped forward.

About twenty warriors leaped forward with him. Sunpaw stopped and stared, eyes wide; and as her Clan died around her all she could think was, _What?!_

And then, she was attacked brutally by a ShadowClan warrior, and she died; unfortunately.


	49. I can't

**8D Yellowfang's death scene....?! ^^;**

**_Chapter word count:_**** 461**

* * *

I can't

"I can't…. survive any longer…." Yellowfang panted to herself as smoke surrounded her in the burning ThunderClan camp.

_You must, Yellowfang. Please…. your life…. it shouldn't be over yet,_ murmured the voices; the voices of StarClan.

"But…. my time…. is coming. And it's almost here…. _now_," Yellowfang sighed.

_No! Yellowfang!_

"I'm sorry, StarClan…. I have…. betrayed…. you…." Yellowfang was getting weaker: she could feel it in her lungs.

_No, you have _not_ betrayed us; fight harder! Fireheart is coming to rescue you!_

"But…. he might not…. rescue me…. soon…. enough…."

****

_Have you ever wanted something?_

_That was out of your reach; that you could never get?_

_Wise ones can tell the tales…._

_The tales of wisdom, fear, strength, and courage_

_These tales have guided many a kit_

_They come in many different forms_

_Stories, songs, poetry, and announcements_

_Quotes, anecdotes, and posted in forums_

Fireheart was like a son to me. He was everything that Brokenstar _wasn't_. Kind, loyal, and brave…. my _own_ son was never like that…. all he wanted was power. He didn't even care about the kits of his own _Clan_, for StarClan's sake! If he _had_ taken over the forest, those kits would have made fine warriors! Absolutely _all_ of them would have made fine warriors! Even Blossomkit, who I heard that at one point just wanted to be a medicine cat!

_But who am I questioning?_

_Wisdom cannot revive the dead._

_Wisdom can only be passed on_

_To prevent the same mistakes_

_To prevent the ones that happened before._

As I wheezed out my last few breaths, I knew that, despite StarClans' protesting, they were coming for me. But…. _why_? _Why_ couldn't I have been there to watch my "adopted" son growing up? He is a hero…. to ThunderClan…. and to all the Clans.

_But who am I kidding?_

_StarClan is great._

_They're kind, loyal, and nice,_

_And I'm glad I live among these cats._

_They are _all_ wise. They are _all_ kind._

_We watch over the cats._

_And cats worship us._

_They worship our wisdom, most of all._

Much as I wish that I hadn't died, that's what happened; I am here in StarClan now. But I am happy. And safe. I can watch Firestar lead his Clan and take good care of his mate and kits all I want…. I am just so _proud_ of him!

I can't stay here any longer, though; I must go meet Spottedleaf by the Moonpool…. It is the half moon tonight and I have to meet Jaypaw.

I can't stay. Just as I couldn't hang on…. just as I couldn't hang on to life, just as Fireheart rescued me….

Oh, well; at least I got to say an official _good-bye_….


	50. Out Cold

**For some reason.... I didn't know exactly WHAT to do with this chapter, so I changed the writing style halfway through. XD But.... you can tell, can't you?! :( **

_**Chapter word count:**_** 652**

* * *

Out Cold

Out cold.

The best way to take a prisoner.

The best way is to just knock them out. They'll be out cold!

I have been taking prisoners as slaves to sell for…. eh, the last twenty seasons, maybe? _Supposedly,_ that would be _five years_ in human language…. but I don't really care too much for human terms.

Hmm? What was that? You're asking…. who I am? Well, I'll tell you, little kit; I am Rock, the leader of DarkClan; the Clan that captures she-cats and forces them to mate with toms (who are warriors!), and then the she-cats are sold for prey!

Hmm…. I can see that you are trembling slightly…. I dare ask; is this because you are a she-cat? Don't worry, we don't hurt spiritual she-cats; only live ones!

What's your name? Blossomkit? And you come from…. ShadowClan, you say? Would you like to hear more about this Clan, Blossomkit of ShadowClan? Well….

****

Rock jolted awake to the sound of screaming. What was he doing?! He was talking to a _StarClan_ cat, for Spirit's sake; these cats were out to get him and bring _down_ his Clan of many cats!

But _anyways_. Back to the screaming sounds….

Rock bounded out of his den to see what was happening outside, and let out a loud yowl of anger. He absolutely couldn't _believe_ the sight before him! Exactly _why_ was a _she-cat_ fighting with and torturing one of _his warriors_ in the middle of the Clearing?!

Other cats were watching: either they were laughing, cheering either one of the cats on, caterwauling in fear, or just staring in shock. Either way, they were _all_ doing something; but none of them were actually _helping_ the warrior! Why?! When _Rock_ was there, usually somebody would help the cat being attacked by his _own_ mate, and then the she-cat would be raped vigorously, many and many more times!

Rock struggled to remember his dream. It held answers! He was _pretty_ sure that there was something about knocking the offensive party out cold…. oh, what did he say; and why couldn't he remember it?!

He briefly was distracted by a gleam of silver at the edge of the crowd. _Of course_. Breezepaw. It was the _very_ pretty she-cat that had been claimed by Scarlett not long ago! _Rock_ wanted her…. he wanted her _so_ bad, that he could practically _taste_ it! But even though he was leader, he couldn't take mates from his warriors…. and _especially_ not Scarlett; he was the fiercest cat in the Clan, and he could rip anyone who made him mad (_including_ his leader!) into shreds!

But _anyways_; back to the battle….

Rock noticed that some of his warriors had noticed him, and they had stopped caterwauling and cheering and whatever else they were doing.

Suddenly, he remembered his dream; so _that's_ what he was both thinking and talking about! Knocking somebody out cold! He could do that to the offending she-cat!

He dashed up quickly, shouldering many different warriors and she-cats aside, and snuck up on the she-cat when she wasn't looking behind her, and…. he pounced!

He bopped her on the head, and she gasped and collapsed down onto her side. The warrior scrambled up. It was Foxy Feet, he noticed.

Foxy Feet bowed in front of him. "Thank you, thank you for saving me!" he purred. Then his voice turned serious, and he added, "And that's _my_ mate, by the way; I don't know exactly _why_ she attacked me!"

"Well, go to the Healer's Den!" Rock replied. "And get healed! _Quickly_!" he growled.

"Will do, Rock." Foxy Feet bowed in front of him again, and then he dashed away, scuttling off through the crowd, and Rock was left looking down at the she-cat.

The she-cat.

He had knocked out the she-cat.

And she was out.

Out like a light.

_Out cold._


	51. Can U Hear Me

**They're getting dreams....! The plot of my story is unfolding! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYZ!!!! ^^; **

**_Chapter word count:_**** 803**

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Can U Hear Me

"Dawnpaw…. can you hear me?" whispered the voice.

"Loud and clear," Dawnpaw muttered, rolling over.

"You're not Dawnpaw…."

Stripepaw woke up, bewildered. She had been dreaming. _Okay, that made absolutely _no_ sense,_ she thought bewilderedly.

"Who's Dawnpaw?"

Stripepaw jumped when she heard a voice, then she sighed. "Oh…. Leopardpaw, it's only you." She let out a sigh of relief, and explained. "I had a weird dream…. In it, somebody whispered, '_Dawnpaw…. can you hear me?_' so I muttered, '_Loud and clear._' And then the cat said, '_You're not Dawnpaw…._' So I got confused because it was _really_ weird!" she finished.

"Hmm…. are you sure that this Dawnpaw isn't _real_?!" Leopardpaw suddenly gasped.

Stripepaw sighed and shook her head. "I…. I don't know. This 'Dawnpaw' _could_ be…. real, I mean…. But who is it? And why did _I_ get a dream?"

Leopardpaw suddenly yawned. "I don't know…. Why don't you go back to sleep?" she suggested brightly. "StarClan might show you more. Besides, it's not dawn yet…. I want to go to sleep."

"Okay, sure." Stripepaw nodded, and curled up again….

Dawnpaw felt a sharp pain in her belly, and she let out a scream.

"Ah, yes, good stuff; my slave has been trained _quite_ well…." A cat stood above her, muttering. She sighed.

_Oh…. it's only Claw._

The kits were out, currently being trained.

The kits had names now—the little gray she-cat was Dusk, the small black tom was Night, and the larger brown tom was Fang—and they were all being trained to be part of the group.

If Claw wasn't her father, Dusk _would_ have had to spend her life in a cage as a mating she-cat—as it was, she had been assigned to be a queen, and she lived in a tom's den—yet she _did_ get special privileges, one of them being torturing cats!

The cat she had to live with was one of the younger toms, just a bit older than her—Red Tooth. He was fierce, but one of the higher toms in the Clan, and, unfortunately, sometimes he _did_ lose control—many times, Dusk had come out of mating covered with scars and squealing with pain. Dawnpaw envied her; her own _kit_ had a much better life than her _mother_!

The toms were torturers, and they got to each have their own slave and torture it, _and_ the newer cats.

As it was, Dawnpaw reflected, her she-kit, Dusk, was lucky; if her father _wasn't_ such a high rank, she would have been picked to be a slave, also! Currently, cats that they captured and the kits of low-rank parents _and_ possibly kits of high-rank parents that were weak _all_ turned out to be slaves—Claw _hadn't_, however, been too happy when he had heard that if Red Tooth died, his own _daughter_ would _probably_ become a slave, _also_!

Claw _loved_ torturing her—currently, he was planning a mating session for the next morning, so that he could have _more_ kits—Dawnpaw didn't enjoy it, but what could _she_ do?!

Stripepaw jerked awake and shook Leopardpaw. It was just before dawn now, but nobody else was awake yet. "Leopardpaw! _Leopardpaw_!" she hissed quietly.

"What?" Leopardpaw wearily rose her head up from her nest and looked up at Stripepaw. "What do you want to tell me? It's just before dawn, you know!"

"Well, I dreamed of Dawnpaw again," Stripepaw began excitedly, "And she is a _slave_! I don't know where, I _don't_ know _how_; I just know that we have to _save_ her somehow!"

"Wow, poetic much?" Leopardpaw murmured. Then she shook herself, and looked Stripepaw seriously in the eyes. "So…. you've been getting these dreams, right? Could it be something prophetic; like, StarClan wants you to _save_ this cat?!"

"But I don't know anything about her!" Stripepaw exclaimed, shocked.

"_Exactly_!" Leopardpaw hissed, and looked pleased with herself. "Maybe you have to _find_ her, and _save_ her!"

"But _how_?!" Stripepaw wondered aloud, just as Leopardpaw's mentor stuck his head into the apprentices' den and called out, "Leopardpaw! _I need you for the dawn patrol_!"

"Oops, gotta go." Leopardpaw laughed. "Well…. let me know if you think of, or _hear_ of, anything else about this mysterious Dawnpaw! Currently, Berrycloud wants me for the dawn patrol—and I'm _off_!" She let out a purr and flounced from the den, leaving Stripepaw alone.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

_What if…. What if this cat and StarClan know that _I_ was a slave once, so they want me to save _this_ cat, _also_, because of it?! Hmm…._ Stripepaw thought hard.

_StarClan…. Dawnpaw…._ It was a long shot, but it _just_ might work…. _Can you hear me?_


	52. Sacrifice

**O_o; O.o; Really.... REALLY long.... XD Almost 7 pages on Word, single-spaced! WOOT! ^^; **

**Enjoy! ^^; Evil.... :D XD**

**_Chapter word count:_**** 3,719 8D **

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Sacrifice

"Hmm…." Thorn was, currently, deep in thought. "We need a sacrifice.... somebody we can give up to Tigerstar at the full moon…." he murmured.

He was in the middle of a BrokenClan meeting—they were a Clan, like BloodClan in the olden days, sort of, but they made sacrifices every moon and usually it was just a kittypet or some random weak loner that they found wandering the streets late at night, just before midnight. At midnight on the night of the full moon, they would take out the cat they had captured and have a ceremony commending Tigerstar for creating their Clan, in which they would torture their chosen cat, and then they would hang the sacrifice by its two front paws—they would tie the paws to strings and dangle the cat over a hole—and then they would slit the cat's throat, and let it fall down into the ruins of what _used_ to be a Twoleg warehouse's basement, and you could hear the screams from fox-lengths away.

But tonight…. tonight could be _different_. Tigerstar had requested a Clan cat, and not just _any_ Clan cat, either—one of Firestar's _kin_ would be sacrificed _tonight_!

Tigerstar had decreed that one of Firestar's daughters would be taken and sacrificed tonight—and this was the only order that he had ever given that _specifically_ mentioned a certain cat from a certain Clan. From _any_ Clan, for that matter.

But, anyway, back to terms. Who _was_ this specific Clan cat? Why, it was Leafpaw, Firestar's daughter and the apprentice medicine cat to Firestar's medicine cat, best friend, _and_ advisor, Cinderpelt!

It had been decreed that it would be _Leafpaw_ and not _Squirrelpaw_ or _Cinderpelt_—because it just so happened that Tigerstar liked the two cats, even though they _were_ pretty close to Firestar! But then again, it seemed like _everyone_ liked the kind medicine cat who had once been training as a warrior, so it didn't _really_ make much difference…. Squirrelpaw was one of Tigerstar's favourites for unknown reasons, though, and the cats of BrokenClan weren't allowed to ask; therefore, nobody did. Tigerstar was _dead_, so he couldn't hurt them _anyways_—well, he couldn't _kill_ them, at the very least; he _could_ inflict serious wounds in dreams, however, so nobody tried to provoke him!

Well. _Anyways_. Thorn was getting ready to go out and capture Leafpaw, so he could complete Tigerstar's task.

_It will be great fun watching Leafpaw die. We shall send an image to the Clans and say that Leafpaw is my slave now!_ Tigerstar's voice purred in Thorn's head.

_Sure, Tigerstar; whatever you say,_ Thorn answered back, now almost _entirely_ at ease. He let out a sigh. _I'd better be going._

_Well, then, hurry _up_! I am _not_ about to wait all day for my sacrifice, and you _know_ that I can hurt you!_ Tigerstar screeched.

Thorn winced. _Sure, Tigerstar…. I'll be right on it. Just let me tell the others I'm going, and I'll be back _way_ before midnight!_

He could almost see Tigerstar nodding. _Good,_ the dark tabby, once a leader, meowed.

_He still has a _lot_ of leader qualities…. like _dictatorship_…._ Thorn shuddered, but got up anyway and went to tell his Clan.

****

Leafpaw wasn't chosen to go to the Gathering. She could complain, but what good could she do? _Nothing_! She was ready to spend a nice night in her den, but she wouldn't mind having a good night hunt….

"You be safe, Squirrelpaw." Leafpaw nuzzled her sister as Squirrelpaw sat, fidgeting her paws, in the middle of the throng of cats getting ready to go to the Gathering.

"I will. You, too," Squirrelpaw whispered.

"I will. I'll keep safe, and I'll see you when I come back," Leafpaw murmured, and Squirrelpaw nodded. Leafpaw could feel excitement crackling from her sister's pelt like lightning.

"We're going now!" Firestar's call suddenly came from the camp entrance. Leafpaw watched her sister get up and race after the other cats.

She sighed. _What can I do now?_ And then she remembered. _Why don't I go on my hunting trip?_

She ran out of the camp, hoping to catch a lot of prey…. and _not_ knowing what was actually going to happen to her the minute she got out of the ravine!

****

Thorn hid expertly up in a tree as the group of cats going to their full-moon-meeting or whatever raced up the ravine and out of the camp. He waited patiently for a chance to grab Leafpaw if she came out of the ravine—if not, he would actually have to go _into_ the camp, but that wasn't a problem because you could easily access the healing den from the forest! He _would_ prefer to actually grab her out here, though…. With any luck, she would go out hunting or something!

He didn't have to wait long. His quarry soon emerged from the camp, and he waited until she was right under his tree, and then….

_Smack!_

****

Suddenly, she heard a yowl from above her and, a moment later, she was squashed underneath the weight of a full-grown cat!

Leafpaw struggled and let out a scream, but she was abruptly cut off as her attacker shoved her muzzle into the ground. She tried to yowl but instead got a mouthful of dirt.

"Ah, yes; this is _perfect_," hissed her attacker joyfully. He fastened something around her neck and clipped a long string to it. Then, he let her up from the ground. She was about to scream again, but he quickly fastened some silver mesh to her muzzle and that kept it shut! She tried to scream again, or even meow or something, but she couldn't anymore!

_Where are you taking me?!_ her mind screamed, but she couldn't actually ask _for real_. All that she could do was follow the golden tom with brown tabby stripes and _huge_ claws through the forest as he took her away from her home.

****

Thorn let out a purr as he saw the entrance to his camp up ahead. The cats of BrokenClan were anxiously milling about, waiting for him to return. He smiled.

"Look what I brought! Our sacrifice!" he called out. The cats hurried toward him. Two cats stopped in front of him and began admiring Leafpaw. _She will make a good slave for Tigerstar,_ he thought.

"Hmm…. it has nice fur, doesn't it?" Blood Splash, one of the two cats standing in front of him, meowed. He stroked Leafpaw's fur and she cringed. Thorn laughed.

"Do you think she's very sensitive?" wondered Yellow Tooth, stroking her pussy with a claw. Leafpaw bristled at first; then cringed at the touch. Yellow Tooth giggled, and, nodding to himself, answered his own question.

Thorn looked up at the sky. It was fast approaching midnight. "We must hurry!" he yowled. "If we don't hurry up and sacrifice this cat, whose name is _Leafpaw_, we will never receive Tigerstar's approval again and then we shall be condemned to scatter!"

All of the cats gasped. "Start the torturing ceremony!" Blood Splash called out.

"Yes, sir! Will do!" Yellow Tooth gasped, rolling out the platform with the bed of spikes and the various other torture methods on it. Leafpaw's eyes widened, and Thorn laughed.

"So? How does it feel to know that we are sacrificing you on the behalf of your father's greatest enemy, _Tigerstar_?" he sneered.

Leafpaw's eyes widened even _more_. "Mmmphf!" was the only sound that she could make.

Thorn laughed yet again. "And first is the torturing ceremony! You will only feel the greatest pain of your _life_! And now, we can take the collar and muzzle off so we can hear your wonderful screams!"

He took the muzzle off and unclipped the collar, and Leafpaw gasped and let out a screech.

"No!" she caterwauled. "You can't _do_ this! Tigerstar is _dead_! Firestar will _never_ allow this!"

"If Firestar wasn't going to allow this," Thorn purred silkily, "Don't you think that he would be here already? With your _sister_ and your _mother_ and your _medicine cat_?"

Leafpaw bowed her head in what looked like shame, but Thorn couldn't be sure. He added, just for good measure, "And Tigerstar has the power to send a vision to all the cats at the Gathering so that they can see just _exactly_ how you will die! Isn't that just _great_?!"

"No, it isn't; it's _terrible_!" Leafpaw gasped. "Please don't! I'll do _anything_ for you! _Anything_ if I can just…. _live_! Live and be happy with my Clan!"

"Ah, but it's too late for _that_," Thorn purred. "We picked you to be our _sacrifice_, not our _slave_. But, don't worry; you will be _Tigerstar's_ slave in the Dark Forest! Just you wait; he has all _kinds_ of slave-training techniques, and I know simply because I _saw_ him!" He grinned evilly, and Leafpaw sighed and bowed her head yet again.

"Well? Are we _ready_?!" Thorn called over to the cats setting up the torturing techniques. There was a fire, and some spikes, and many _other_ torturing techniques, but Thorn absolutely couldn't _wait_ until they finished with _that_; because once they hanged Leafpaw then he could torture her most of _all_! She was _powerless_ in the hanging position, because she would be hanging by her two front paws and there would _also_ be a vice on her neck; Thorn had forgotten about that, at first.

****

By now, Tigerstar was sending the vision. All the cats at the Gathering were mentally _forced_ to stop…. and watch…. and _listen_.

When Squirrelpaw saw her sister with all of these weird rogue cats, and she heard what they were planning to do to her, she stood up on her paws, screaming angrily and yowling her sister's name.

"Leafpaw! _Leafpaw_!" she screeched.

"We must go and help her!" She heard Firestar's gasp from the top of the Great Rock.

"Oh, but you _can't_," a voice purred. "I am slowly…. _slowly_ getting my revenge on you, Firestar. And when I _complete_ it, _it will not be pretty_!" The mysterious cat ended his tirade with a hiss.

And all of a sudden, Firestar was on his paws; he was yowling to the sky and not showing any sign of stopping any time soon.

"Tigerstar!" he caterwauled. "You can_not_ do this to my daughter! I will _not_ allow it! In fact, I will go and rescue her _right now_!" He tried to get up to his paws and bound off the Great Rock and go in search of his daughter, but something stopped him. He could not move, he found. Everyone else in the clearing tried, too, but they were spiritually bound by force to be frozen in one particular spot.

"Oh, I will let you move when your daughter is _dead_, Firestar," he purred silkily. Then he yowled, roaring like a lion, "_But not before_!"

"Firestar!" Sandstorm yowled in agony. "Our daughter is _in pain_! _Do_ something!"

"Alas, I can't." Firestar _tried_ to shake his head, but, like all of the other cats in the clearing; he was _completely_ bodily-frozen. "I wish we could, but—"

"_Watch_ and _listen_!" Tigerstar howled in anger. He turned their vision back to what the rogue cats were doing, and they were _all_ forced to watch.

Even the cats who _weren't_ at the Gathering.

And they hated _every_. _Single_. _Minute_. _Of_. _It_.

****

Thorn led Leafpaw over to the spikes. He picked her up and she struggled, but he had a tight grip on her and he slowly lowered her, belly-side-down, onto the bed of hot (because they had just been in the fire), prickly spikes. She let out a yowl of pain, but he held her muzzle shut and began.

"Tigerstar, we thank you for this opportunity to satisfy your peace of mind that you did right in creating our Clan," he began. "Now, we shall begin torturing this cat before we hang it and send it to you so that you can have it as just _another_ one of your slaves. Please watch and be pleased as we prepare this cat to be your slave! _Thank you, Tigerstar_!"

"Thank you, Tigerstar," the rest of the Clan chorused happily.

"And, now, we shall _begin_!" Thorn roared; releasing Leafpaw's mouth and letting her scream all she wanted as he shoved her belly into the bed of spikes. He shoved until he could _almost_ feel the _very tips_ of the spikes through her stomach, and then he flipped her over onto her back and shoved the hot spikes through her back. Leafpaw screamed the entire time, and Thorn was _lovin' it_.

She was then handed over to Yellow Tooth, who pushed her down onto the ground and held her, belly-side-up. He _then_ splayed her paws out around her, and cuffed her paws to the ground so that she couldn't escape. He grabbed a long metal stick with some pointed rubber on the end of it, and he held it in the fire; Leafpaw watched the whole time with wide, scared eyes. Thorn grinned.

"So?" he asked evilly. "How does it feel to know that you, a supposedly 'not-able-to-be-harmed' medicine cat, are being tortured by _us_, and your Father and absolutely _all_ of the cats in _all_ of the Clans and _all_ of the places around are paralyzed by Tigerstar, and forced to watch your demise?"

She glared at him furiously, but then broke away her gaze as she widened her eyes up in the direction of Yellow Tooth and screamed, the most tortured and terrified scream he had ever heard before, as Yellow Tooth slowly pressed the hot, hot rubber onto her lower belly.

Cats laughed and cheered. Leafpaw must be _really_ embarrassed, Thorn thought.

Another cat, Red Claws, stepped forward. He grabbed a piece of burning metal in his teeth and scraped it down the small tabby she-cat's side. She howled in pain and tried to throw him off, but…. she couldn't _move_!

_What a good thing,_ Thorn thought, at least _somewhat_ relieved. The paw-cuff thing had only been added recently—they _used_ to hold cats down when they tortured them, but not anymore since a rogue that they'd captured had managed to fight her way out from the grip of the two cats holding her down and injure them! Both cats had almost died, and another cat actually _was_ dead, from when she'd trampled all over it while escaping. Therefore, they had changed their holding methods.

Red Claws's method burned Leafpaw's fur _and_ drew blood at the same time. It was…. _convenient_, to say the least. It worked _very_ well as a torture device, and sometimes they even managed to _kill_ cats with it!

Next, they set part of Leafpaw's fur on fire. She screeched in pain as her fur was singed and the raw skin underneath was burned. Two cats—Black Lake and Owl Screech—stepped forward with a bucket full of ice-cold water. They were planning to drench Leafpaw with that. As Leafpaw screamed, they slowly crept behind her and dumped the water on her body!

Leafpaw screamed with the shock of cold. She trembled and her struggles started growing weaker—was she in shock? Either way, they _were_ almost done with the torture session; when they were done she could be killed!

Thorn observed as a cat, Tiger Fang, raced up to Leafpaw and began raking claws down her shivering sides. It had practically been _proven_ that cold makes pain worse—hey, it worked for _them_!

Leafpaw howled in what would be, to Thorn, indescribable pain. He _almost_ pitied her.

_Almost._

He knew that Tigerstar would not be too happy with him if he did!

Finally, he decided to let _everybody_ torture Leafpaw before she was hanged. She would feel pain for the _last_ time in her sorry little life, and Thorn was pretty pleased with the thought that her _very last memory_ would be of pain! He let out the call.

"It is time for Every Cat Torturing Time!" he yowled, and _immediately_ cats began dashing toward Leafpaw, yowling in delight and unsheathing their claws. Thorn heard Leafpaw's scream as the cats leaped onto her, and then he heard ripping fur and breaking bones as cats scratched, bit, and broke her.

_Finally_, they stepped off of her and left Yellow Tooth and Blood Splash to hang her by her two front paws and her neck. She could barely move as Yellow Tooth and Blood Splash grabbed her two front legs and dragged her across to the hanger and hung her over the pit. They had to be careful—they could fall too if they weren't paying attention!

Once they were done, they stepped back and the whole Clan fell silent. Thorn stepped forward and stood in front of Leafpaw's face. She just stared at him, her eyes wide, hollow, and full of defeat. He purred, bringing up a paw to his face. She watched it with fearful eyes, and he just licked it. _Then_, he unsheathed the claws on that paw, and once she saw how long they really _were_, she gasped in horror.

Thorn purred.

He was _loving_ this.

Just…. _lovin' it_.

He slowly poked the claw lightly onto her forehead, and she strained her eyes to watch it as he poked it farther, farther in, and then….

"AUGH!" came Leafpaw's scream as he poked it in full-force! He grinned happily, and therefore proceeded to put two paws on her belly and swing her back and forth. She stared, fearfully, below her as she saw the bottom of the pit—_both_ sides.

He decided to kill her now…. Midnight was almost upon them and, in the torturing of Leafpaw by _all_ of the cats he had _kind of_ lost track of the time.

_Oh, well!_ he thought. _At least we are doing this _before_ midnight, and _that_ is what counts!_

He stepped carefully backwards, and said the words: "Tigerstar, we thank you for this opportunity to torture a cat and make it learn exactly what _you_ will do to it in the Dark Forest, only your methods make the pain worse. We shall now kill this cat, Leafpaw, kin of Firestar, and send it down to the Dark Forest where it may meet all of your needs. We understand that since it is Firestar's kin and you hate Firestar that you will work it harder. Thank you!"

And with that, he carefully slit Leafpaw across the throat.

"Not too violent, now….!" he muttered to himself. He didn't want to fall in by being _too_ violent in all of this!

He slowly watched as Leafpaw's eyes took on an expression of horror and he watched carefully as her eyes slowly glazed over…. Her heart beat for the last time and then he released her paws and the back of her neck from the chain, letting her broken, battered body plummet down to the cold, hard ground with all the bones scattered around it below.

The cats cheered loudly as they heard the sickening _Crack!_ that told them that Leafpaw really _was_ dead, and that she had reached the bottom of the basement.

"Cats of BrokenClan," Thorn announced, "We have done yet _another_ successful sacrificing to Tigerstar. Feel proud of yourselves!"

The crowd cheered, and pretty soon a chant rose up among the cheering cats: "Long live Tigerstar's legacy! Long live Tigerstar's legacy!"

And they cheered that until midnight, when it was _finally_ time to go to bed.

****

At the Gathering, however, things were in turmoil and in various states of chaos.

"Cats of the Clans," Firestar began. "Leafpaw is dead. We shall grieve for her tonight when we—"

A voice suddenly spat from the crowd, "How could you let her die without _doing_ anything?!" It was Squirrelpaw. Firestar looked down calmly upon her.

"I _couldn't_," he replied. "I _couldn't_ do anything to help Leafpaw, because I was paralyzed, too!"

"But you should be the fire that saves the Clans!" another cat wailed. Cats were glaring up at Firestar from all directions, and Tallstar and Leopardstar edged a bit farther away from him as if he was a disease, or a parasite, or an exiled rogue, or something.

"But I felt Leafpaw's pain the _entire_ time!" argued Squirrelpaw. "It was _real_! And, besides, you should be more powerful than Tigerstar; _why_ did you let us down?! Oh, _why_?!"

"Listen, I did _not_ let you down, and I did not even _try_ to let you down; I—"

Firestar tried again, but now it was _Sandstorm_ who was on her paws below him, her fur bristling all over and her eyes blazing fire as she hissed, "I thought you were supposed to be more powerful than Tigerstar! Maybe more powerful than _StarClan_, even!"

"Listen, Sandstorm, I—"

"You let us down!" she hissed menacingly. "You let our daughter die and you didn't even _do_ anything about it!!!!" She put a _lot_ of stress on the word '_do_'.

"Sandstorm—" Firestar began again.

"I _hate_ you!" she blurted out.

As Firestar listened helplessly to everyone screaming complaints about him and how bad he was for not saving his daughter, he finally thought despairingly, _What if Longtail was right all those years ago? And Darkstripe and Longtail, too? What if a kittypet really _isn't_ fit to be leader?_

****

Tigerstar watched what was happening below in quiet satisfaction. Leafpaw, one of Firestar's kin, was dead, and now most cats _hated_ Firestar for not being able to do something to stop the death of his daughter, the apprentice medicine cat. And Firestar even doubted his own position as a former kittypet leader!

Tigerstar smiled.

His revenge was _almost_ complete.

Now, all he would have to do was—somehow—get Firestar killed, and his revenge would be complete!

He had chosen Leafpaw as a sacrifice, got rid of her, and now he only had just a _couple_ more things to do; and then, only _then_, his revenge would finally, _finally_ be complete.


	53. Stripes

**Short.... DX**

**However, this cat (I like to think that it's Dawnpaw, that even though she IS Mistyfoot's daughter, is Mistyfoot's apprentice) is just collecting and observing art....! I think that this idea is very ORIGINAL....!!!! ^^; **

**It's too shoooooooooort. DX XD **

_**Chapter word count:**_** 203 :( **

* * *

Stripes

Stripes.

Oh, so many stripes….

The way I think of it, different stripes and spots are like art—stripes on leaves, spots on fish, dappled sunlight on the forest floor.

Even _cats_ are like art! For example, there is a _really_ pretty warrior in my Clan—Silverstream. She has the most _beautiful_ silver pelt, and many cats love her for it and for her spirit!

Am I the _only_ one who has ever considered just how _beautiful_ everything in the forest is?!

The little fuzzy balls from willow trees falling onto the river bank by the water—now, _that_ is beautiful. So, that is like white spots on green grassy and brown muddy ground.

The reeds—green stripes against blue water. _Sometimes_, they are brown or even _gray_—but only the rotten ones!

RiverClan's home in the forest is just _beautiful_. I like looking at ThunderClan's side, too, but I just happen to think that RiverClan's side is _the BEST_!

And now, I'd better get back to hunting…. My mentor will be angry with me if she finds out that all I have been doing is staring out at the river bank and looking at some leaves, and thinking about art, and all that, instead of hunting!


	54. Long Forgotten

**D8 Poor Starsight.... Poor Clans.... This chapter is actually, like, the prologue of one of my stories that I'm writing! ^^; The prologue is in _italics_****. ;) The story is called Swiftpaw's quest. 8D I may post it sometime. But until _THEN_****, enjoy! ^^; **

**_Chapter word count:_**** 716 :D **

* * *

Long Forgotten

Starsight had been long forgotten by the four element Clans _until_, of course, they decided to drive him out—and _then_, _many moons later_, he decided to wreak his havoc on the forest—no prey, all the trees were dying, absolutely _everything_ bad was happening! And only _one_ cat could save them all.

_Snarls could be heard rising up into the air as many living and spiritual cats approached the dark ginger cat, who was neither alive nor dead, circling him tightly._

"_Starsight," snarled one, a silver tabby tom. "Get out of our territories. We don't want you here."_

"_Why?" Starsight looked confused. "I'm the god of the Clans, you can't—"_

"_So sure, now, are you?" snarled the silver tabby again. "You try to take control of the Clans too much. You can make storms and sunny days. You can kill cats and make kits get born. You can destroy the forest or help the trees. It's too much."_

"_But that's what I'm supposed to do!" Starsight protested, looking fearful._

"_Not anymore," the tabby snarled._

"_Silverheart—" Starsight stumbled, and it took him a moment to regain his balance. "Silverheart, you can't just drive me out like this." His voice was icily calm._

"_That's exactly what we're going to do," Silverheart retorted. "Clans, StarClan, attack!"_

_Starsight fled._

StarClan cats looked down into the pool, watching the old scene unfold before them.

"You know, Silverheart, now that Starsight is gone, many moons later things are happening, things that are not exactly wanted," a light brown tabby spirit meowed. She had green eyes.

"I know, Mallowtail," Silverheart said. "I was young and foolish then. I see now that I was wrong."

"Yes, you were." Mallowtail said sternly. "Had you not done that, Starsight wouldn't be using his mind power to destroy all the trees and prey, leaving the land open and bare. Even the Clan camps are suffering. It is leaf-bare, and the nurseries are wide open to the cold night air. Kits are dying because of the cold and their mothers' lack of milk. Green-cough has settled in the Clans, and they are vulnerable to death because there is no catmint in sight. Starsight killed the herbs first so that cats would get sick. He wants revenge on the Clans."

"I know," Silverheart sighed. His blue eyes were dull and his pelt was rough. "And Starsight affected the StarClan world too. When prey dies in the Clans, it is brought to us. Then, when we kill it, it is reborn in the wild. But now there is no prey, and we have none either."

"We need a cat who will save the Clans," Mallowtail mewed. "I have the perfect choice." She looked down into the pool.

Silverheart was incredulous. Down in the pool…. That was an apprentice, no, it was a _kit!_ _She might do,_ he thought. The gray tabby was small but looked strong, and there was something in the depths of her eyes that gave her a confident, strong look. "Maybe," he murmured.

"Maybe? Definitely!" Mallowtail looked at him like he was crazy. "Starsight is sparing her. I don't know why, but look at her. She's fine and strong. She'll do."

"You're probably right," Silverheart said shakily.

But the only cat that can save the Clans is an apprentice named Swiftpaw. She already knows _all_ about Starsight and all that—but will she manage to bring this long-forgotten cat back to the Clans?

As the elder who has helped her through all of the hard times, _I_, Longclaw, sure hope that I can help her on her journey! She has already left—she left after her denmates decided to cause a commotion at a Clan meeting, and although she was not _officially_ exiled, she dashed straight out of the camp and wasn't seen again after that.

I _know_ that she's on her journey right now—I can just _feel_ it. Yet, I wish that she had gotten to say good-bye—as it looks, I'm going to _die_ before she returns!

But I feel that she shall succeed in her quest. Yes, the quest for this long forgotten cat should have been done _many moons ago…._


	55. Ran

**MUAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! ^^; *races ahead of all the other writers* So long, suckas! See you at the finish line! ^^; XD **

**I _was_**** going to write more, but then my Dad called me downstairs complaining that I hadn't done my sister's fliers right, and then he yelled at me and I started crying and I was so stressed I could hardly breathe (I have Tourette's Syndrome and I don't deal well with stress!!!! :o ) and so then now my head hurts and I have to get off the Internet soon ANYWAYS so, enjoy this last chapter for now before I leave! I _MAY_**** write more later, but we shall just have to _SEE_****. Enjoy! ;) ^^; **

**_Chapter word count:_**** 706 ;) **

* * *

Ran

Runningkit had decided to go on an adventure.

He was _bored_ of the ThunderClan camp. So, one day he thought, _Why not go into Twoleg place?! I mean, it's _got_ to be more fun than here, and I just _can't_ see how it would be dangerous!_

Runningkit told his mother, "I've got to go make dirt. Can I go alone, please?"

"Why, yes," his mother purred. "Yes, Runningkit, I believe you can; you're old enough to know to bury your dirt and all, right?"

"Yes." Runningkit fidgeted his paws from side to side, to make it look like he _had_ to go. "I know, Mother!" he chirped brightly.

"Great!" she purred. "You can go, then; just be back soon!" _Why did she say that….? I can take as long as I _want_ to! Besides, this trip _may_ take a while; I can just say that I took _ages_ or that I was constipated or something!_

But these thoughts disturbed him, so he just decided to _go_ already!

"I'm going now." And Runningkit dashed out of the nursery, and hared through the clearing towards the entrance to the dirt-place tunnel.

When he got there, he squeezed out through the hole in the brambles making up the wall and popped into the forest, emerging with some thorns in his pelt. He quickly picked them off and _dashed_ away!

Dashing through the forest, he soon came across some cats. He suddenly realized that he had crossed the border, and he turned to go back, hoping that they wouldn't see him; but they had heard him, and the largest cat, a large brown tom with huge black paws and one black ear, grabbed him and pinned him down, flipping him over periodically to check through his dark brown tabby fur.

"Do you know who I am?" he hissed into Runningkit's face, when Runningkit was facing upward (belly-side-up; he realized that he was very vulnerable in this position).

"N-No!" Runningkit squeaked nervously.

"Well, I am Claw, one of the highest-ranked warriors of BloodClan!" declared Claw.

"Eek! You're _bad_!" Runningkit squeaked, flattening himself against the ground as far as he could to get away from Claw's face, and realizing all the while that he might be stolen, or something else bad like that!

"Y'know…." Claw remarked, studying Runningkit. "This fur would look _great _with a collar on it."

"What…." Bird cocked her head to one side. "Are you saying that…. we should keep this kit as a slave?"

Claw snorted. "Why not?! He'd look _perfect_ with our extra black-and-purple collar on, I should think; and besides, it's always good to have extra helping hands around the camp, is it not?!"

"Oh, I don't know…." Quiet little Rose spoke up for the first time. "He's a Clan cat…. and we have enough slaves already…. Don't you think that we should let him go?"

Claw glared at her. "_What_ did you say?! We can _never_ have enough slaves, especially when ours keep dying!"

"You keep _killing_ them, Claw," Bird explained patiently.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "You never feed them; and you torture them all to the _death_!"

Claw kept one paw on Runningkit, but he lunged forward and slashed Rose across the nose. She squeaked in pain.

"Do _not_ say that!" he roared.

"Y-Ye-Yes; sure, Claw!" she stammered.

"_Good._" Claw nodded, and studied Runningkit yet _again_. "How about we take him back? Bird, you can hold him."

"Oh, _joy_." She snorted, but took up a position beside Runningkit anyway, and as they slowly walked along, Claw eventually got so far up ahead that Bird leaned forward and whispered in Runningkit's ear, "Would you like to escape?"

"Yes!" Runningkit hissed back.

"Okay." Bird checked up the path to see if Claw was watching. _Is Claw watching? Okay…. no? Good._

"_Go!_" she hissed to Runningkit. "Run, and run _fast_! Run that way—" she pointed with her tail to behind them "—but just _go_! And _hurry_!"

And, lo and behold; true to his name, Runningkit just _ran_. And, believe me, he ran _fast_.


	56. In The Clouds

In The Clouds

"Hi, Firepaw!" Flowerpaw greeted her friend one morning at the fresh-kill pile.

"Hi." Her friend's gaze was distant, and she was staring off into the clouds; she didn't look at Flowerpaw and that got her worried.

"Umm… Firepaw? Are you okay?"

"Yeah; why _wouldn't_ I be?"

"Well, you look kind of…. _distant_. Like you have your head in the clouds," Flowerpaw teased, trying to make a joke.

"Well…. I dunno if it's like _that_, but…." Firepaw trailed off and absent-mindedly bit into the piece of fresh-kill she had been holding at her paws; it was a little brown wood-mouse.

"Firepaw, something's _wrong_," Flowerpaw insisted. "I can tell. And you're my _friend_…. won't you tell me? _Please?_"

Her voice was kind of high-pitched with desperation and worry, but for a few heartbeats Firepaw didn't reply. _Finally_, she started to turn her head around and, after what seemed like moons, her gaze came to rest on Flowerpaw's face.

"Yeah? Well, nothing's wrong," Firepaw murmured.

Flowerpaw took this chance to distract her friend from her _very_ apparent spacey-ness, and she leaped forward and clapped her paws together in front of Firepaw's face. "Wah-ha!" she hissed in satisfaction.

"Uh—uh—wuahhhhh!" Firepaw screeched, jumping back. A couple of the warriors stared at her strangely, and a few cats let the fur on their shoulders bristle with fear, but Firepaw didn't make any more sounds and they went back to what they were doing before. Firepaw glared at Flowerpaw.

"I was thinking! Couldn't you see that?!" she hissed, low and under her breath.

Flowerpaw was taken aback by her best friend's ferocity; surely she shouldn't be talking to her like that?

"Uh—um, yes; sure," she mewed shakily. "Anyway, what are you looking so distant about?" she continued, once her friend had calmed down enough for her to ask without the fear of getting clawed or something—that would never happen, but still! Better to be on the safe side…. Firepaw had a tongue as sharp as her claws!

"Well…. last night I had a dream," Firepaw began. "I saw three cats walking together; a pale gray cat, a golden tabby, and a silver tabby. I don't know what it means, but StarClan told me something about meeting these three cats in the mountains….? And they said to take a certain ginger-furred friend with me…. They didn't say exactly _who_ it was, but I think I have pretty good idea…."

"Who is it?" Flowerpaw meowed, her heart speeding up with excitement. _Is it…. me?_

"It's you!" Firepaw finished, and Flowerpaw let out a squeal.

"_Really?!_" she squeaked. "You think that it _is_ me?! Oh, Firepaw; that's _great_! So, when do we leave?"

She observed her friend's face and Firepaw's face had taken on a serious look. "Don't tell everybody about our journey…. I would like to keep it a secret for as long as we possibly can! Don't even tell the leader, or the medicine cats! I…. I don't want them to stop us from leaving." She looked sad. "This sounds important. On the bright side…." She suddenly cheered up. "….StarClan said that we should leave the night after the half-moon!"

"Really?!" Flowerpaw gasped. "But that's only four days away from now!"

"I know! But we really _can't_ delay! This sounds important, and we are supposed to meet other cats, so if we go out late then we'll _miss_ them!" Firepaw let out a challenging hiss, but her eyes were filled with playfulness.

"Oh, I understand," Flowerpaw said, nodding. "You see, I didn't realize at first that there were _other_ cats that we were going to have to meet—"

"And travel with," Firepaw added quickly.

"Okay, _and_ travel with," Flowerpaw amended hastily. "I thought that it was just going to be _us_!"

"Why would you think that?!" Firepaw exclaimed, wide-eyed. "We could _never_ travel _alone_!"

This was true, Flowerpaw realized; they would _never_ survive on their own out there in that unknown wilderness….!

"So…. we're leaving in four days?" Flowerpaw whispered suddenly.

"Yeah." Firepaw nodded. "We should _probably_ get ready. Eat lots of prey, and—"

"Oh, yeah." Flowerpaw snorted. "The other cats and warriors will be _so_ happy when they see us eating extra food; more than we're supposed to!" She laughed. "Not a chance."

Firepaw sighed, and nodded. "Okay, I guess you're right. So, just eat normally, and we'll leave soon, then!"

"Okay, I—" Flowerpaw was cut off by Pinkcloud's yowl.

"Flowerpaw! I want you to come on a hunting patrol," she called.

Flowerpaw looked apologetically at her friend. "Sorry," she mewed. She added, in a whisper, "Pinkcloud can be so _annoying_ sometimes! Don't you agree?!"

"Yeah." Firepaw nodded and Flowerpaw got up to go on the hunting patrol.

_I've got my head in the clouds, eh?_


	57. Behind My Back

100 Tales 57

Behind my Back

It was a relatively normal day.... I hunted, I patrolled, and I cared for the kits.

I went out on the dawn patrol—we had found evidences of WindClan stealing some of our prey. We had decided to ambush their sunset patrol.... But we had marked all the trees and even every single blade of grass on our borders.

I hunted at sunhigh. It was really nice out in the forest—peaceful, and you could hear the little rivers running.

"Icepaw! Behind you!" Rosepaw suddenly screeched. Graystripe started to dash over to help me.

I turned around. Behind me was.... "_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_ StarClan, _help_ me!" I begged.

For coming up behind me were two huge, vicious WindClan warriors; they had their very long claws extended and their very sharp teeth bared.

I let out a scream as they both leaped on me.

I tried to fight back. I wish I could say that I got away unharmed; only I didn't. I waited for my Clanmates to help me, but pretty soon even _more_ WindClan cats poured out of the bushes, and we didn't have a chance. Us—the patrol, made up of Rosepaw, Graystripe, Brightheart, and I—were all killed.

Will this teach me to be more careful and glance at what's behind my back more often? Well, it's kind of hard to say—but I'm _dead_.


	58. True Friends

100 Tales 58

True Friends

Lilypaw hurried out of the camp. Tonight was the night that she would leave to go on that important mission with her friends!

She snuck quietly out of the thorn barrier; the guard was patrolling the camp walls, at the top, so she skirted the camp walls quickly and quietly, and when she _finally_ got out of the camp she breathed a sigh of relief.

She got only a few fox-lengths into the forest before she heard a noise.

Suddenly, a tom she liked, Streampaw, emerged out of the bushes a few fox-lengths from her and began to pad towards the camp entrance. He must have scented her, because he suddenly looked in her direction and let out a purr.

"Hi!" he meowed. "Out midnight hunting?"

"Uhh...." Lilypaw wasn't quite sure what to say. _I _can't_ tell him about my mission.... can I?!_ "Streampaw, I have to tell you something."

He frowned. "Are you sure? Can't it wait until morning?"

"No, Streampaw, I...." Lilypaw whispered. Her voice shook. Then, she got it under control, and she went on, more steadily. "Streampaw, I have to leave. I'm going on a mission with some other cats from some other Clans in a different forest, and I have to go _tonight_. I can't bring you with me, understand? It's so heartbreaking but I've already met these cats in dreams and I've just _gotta_ do it!" Her voice rose to a wail on the last sentence. "We have to save the Clans!"

Streampaw drew his tail around her shoulders. "I'll always wait for you," he promised. "I wish that I could come with you, but.... I understand that this is something that just you and your friends need to do. Alone."

"Without you," Lilypaw whispered, staring at the ground.

Streampaw nudged her. "It'll be okay. I'll wait for you."

"Forever?" She stared up at him hopefully.

"Forever and for always," he promised her. Lilypaw stared at him as he walked back into his camp; his silver fur illuminated a pale blue in the moonlight.


	59. Battle

100 Tales 59

Battle

"You want to hear about battle, Blossomkit? Mosskit? Yes?" said the old, old cat named Rock, to the two kits sitting in front of him. Both kits nodded vigorously. "Well…. okay, all right. This is a short story, but a one with great, _great_ meaning. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Blossomkit was practically leaping up and down with excitement.

"_Yeah!"_ squealed Mosskit.

"Okay," said Rock. "Then, I shall begin."

It was a sunny afternoon in green-leaf. Everything was peaceful—well, it _seemed_ peaceful. Truly? One cat's mind was in turmoil. Oh, yes. The ThunderClan camp was infiltrated by one angry mind…. Not looking for peace, _no_. Oh, no; he was looking for _trouble_.

Goldenstripe hissed as he tried to think of a way to do battle with a Clan, without making it _so_ blatantly obvious that he had planned the entire thing.

_Hmm…._ He tried to think. He trashed many ideas, such as going into the RiverClan camp and joining RiverClan, and then attacking WindClan or ShadowClan—not ThunderClan, he _reall_y_ didn't_ want to hurt them all _that_ much—as soon as he got the chance; there was _also_ the classic provoking a fight with RiverClan, but….

"I got it!" he exclaimed suddenly. Cat heads turned from all around the camp to look at him. Amberheart's head appeared out of the nursery—his mate.

"What is it, hun?" she asked, in that oh-so-sweet voice that reminded him of delicious honey dripping from beehives.

"Oh…. Nothing." Goldenstripe felt his ears grow hot, embarrassed.

"Oh, all right. Just…. call me if you need anything!" Amberheart purred, and disappeared back into the nursery. Cats nodded, and turned back to what they had previously been doing. The camp was peaceful, once more.

Rock stopped. The kits prodded him. "And…. what happened after that?!" Mosskit asked, excitedly.

Rock shook his head, amused with these two little clueless kits. "Can't you guess? He went into RiverClan territory and caught and killed prey. He ended up leading his Clanmates into ruthless battles, and the RiverClan cats got into the camp that same afternoon." He frowned. "They killed all the queens and took all the kits. Amberheart died."

"Aww…. poor Amberheart!" Blossomkit protested. Mosskit was silent.

Rock shook his head. "You see, kits, battle is never the answer. Never."

His words hung in the air and floated through the forest, through peaceful sunlit clearings and grassy moors. All of the cats in StarClan had heard Rock's story, and they would never forget the outcome.


	60. The End

**Hahaha~ This is a weird tale; although, I *do* favour ShadowClan.... ^^; Also, I think that my FanFiction account might be hacked into, because I *might* have a virus on my computer and Spybot S & D flat-out _refuses_ to immunize all of IE's weaknesses; and on Opera, if you upload a document and then go into it, well, all that shows up is something that you *can* type on but, well, no story.... : Ah, wells; I'm assuming that the Opera-not-working-suddenly-thing has to do with a change of the site? Any light on that, pleases....? : **

**BLEHS. I'm all the way up to, like, 68 or somethin's; the *only* problem is that I could *not* think of ideas for some chapters -- so, I've written, like *waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay* ahead. XD Heys, is there anybody that can maybe write out a chapter or two for mees....? ^^; 8D **

**Well, *ANYWAYS*. Enjoy! ^^; 8D **

100 Tales 60

The End

"It'll be the end of ThunderClan, you pitiful leader. The end!" hissed Blackstar as he pinned down Firestar. Many more big warriors and rogues held the other cats of ThunderClan, and the majority of the kits were taken to ShadowClan's camp. The queens and some of the kits were being taken back to the rogues' camps, so they could do whatever they wanted with them. But, in the meantime, back to the story….

"No!" Firestar wheezed. "You can kill me. Just…. let the rest of my Clan _go_!"

"Oh, but that wouldn't be all that much fun…. Now would it, Firestar?" purred Blackstar. "I mean, we're keeping Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovekit, as there is a prophecy surrounding them, and maybe a couple of the better warriors, but the rest….? Well, we'll do away with them as we please!"

All of Blackstar's cats cheered. The ThunderClan cats, for once, trembled in fear.

"Now, let's see…. Thorn Heart! Open the cage!" yowled Blackstar snappily. Thorn Heart, a ginger tom, hurried to do as he was asked, opening a large metal cage. "Get Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovekit, and throw them in there!"

A small gray tabby tom, a larger golden tabby cat, and a tiny fluffy gray kit were thrown into the cage. Dovekit immediately began to cry, and Thorn Heart advanced towards her threateningly, but there was a _small_ interruption.

"_Stop!_" ordered Blackstar. "These cats are not to be hurt. Now, let's see…. The other warriors, ones that would make good, strong, loyal warriors for ShadowClan…." He spent some time pondering over which cats would be good enough to join _them_, ShadowClan.

"Hmm, let's see…."

"No, not him…."

"Throw that one into the cage! _NO!_ Not _that_ one! Get the _right_ one and put him in! Take the wrong one _out_!"

"Arggh! Just get the _right_ cats, and as fast as you _can_, _got it?!?!_"

Eventually, the rest of the cats chosen and put into the large, rolling cage on wheels, were Dustpelt, Thornclaw, Cloudtail, Spiderleg, Whitewing, Birchfall, Graystripe, Millie (only a kittypet, but Blackstar thought that she might have a _lot_ of potential, if only she put all her strengths towards ShadowClan and _only_ ShadowClan), Hazeltail, Cinderheart, Icepaw, and Foxpaw. The two elders (Mousefur and Longtail) were taken, also.

Firestar's eyes widened in surprise. That was the majority of ThunderClan! Clearly, Blackstar liked more of his cats than he had let on.

The cats who were _not_ chosen looked on in terror, as their caged Clanmates were wheeled, the older cats screeching, the apprentices and the kit crying, and some of the other cats just sitting hopelessly and not doing anything at all.

"Now…." Blackstar grinned evilly. "These cats that are scum don't deserve the special torture treatment. Just…. slit their throats open and leave them for the birds and the flies!"

Firestar started to say something, but Blackstar quickly cut his throat.

"I was right, Scourge," he vowed. "This was and _is_ the end of ThunderClan."

He let out a roar. "_THE END!!!!_"

* * *


	61. Always

**Short. : But, it's a poem; and I *do* like this one!!!! ^^; 8D **

**Hehehehs.... :P ^^; **

* * *

100 Tales 61

Always

I served my Clan until the very end.

_Always._

Even if the courage I needed was more than I could spend.

_Always._

I never pretended, right until the very end.

_Always._

Never, no, never, I would never pretend.

_Always._

I loved life, I didn't want to go.

_Always._

Life was too precious to let go.

_Always._

But alas, let go I did.

_Always._

I left after I was hit.

_Always._

Slashed in the throat by a ShadowClan cat.

_Always._

Ohh, how much I hated that.

_Always._

But what's done is done, and we can't undo it….

_Always._

Right?

_Always._

So here I sit, in StarClan, awaiting my fate.

_Always._

And I hope that my warning was not too late.

_Always._


	62. Year's End

**Heys! ^^; This is *sort of* a story that I want/ed to writes; and, sure, it *is* really unrealistic, buts.... Heys!!!! I absolutely *love* this ideas!!!! ^^; 8D **

* * *

100 Tales 62

Year's End

"You know," Claudia sighed. "This is what I miss back home, with my family. I mean…. Living with you cats is wonderful, and all, but we humans just have so many _celebrations_."

Claudia was a girl who had run away into the forest one day, _intending_ to just take a visit. Instead, she had gotten herself _really_ lost—so lost that she started to live in the woods! However, she had been found by a ThunderClan patrol, and even _though_ she was a human, she could _still_ speak cat language, and she could hunt simple things like fish or maybe birds, and she could _even_ fight! Just the basic moves, of course, and every time there was a battle, she had to stay in camp, partially to defend it and partially to make sure that she didn't get horribly hurt at the scene of the battle—once, she had tried to fight in a battle, and almost lost her _life_, the medicine cat, Mintleaf, had _desperately_ tried to heal her with herbs, but she had a severe reaction to them and nearly _died_; it was just lucky that StarClan had stepped in and saved her.

But anyway, she didn't mind. She was great fun for the kits to play with—"They're just like babies back home," she had chuckled—and when winter came around, she could cuddle the babies in her jacket with her. The just new-born ones liked that.

Redtail, the ThunderClan deputy who was sitting beside her, glanced up, surprised. He and Claudia and the rest of the Clan were sitting on a ledge on a cliff overlooking a city. It wasn't very far out of the territory, and besides, Claudia had wanted to see a New Year's celebration in the closest city. She had gone hiking one day, and four hours later she had returned, sweaty and exhausted. She had eaten a piece of prey—she sometimes ate mice and rats and birds, but usually only the skin and the white meat—and proceeded to tell the Clan about her wonderful find. That was the reason that they were all sitting up there now—Claudia was cradling a few kits in her winter jacket, and they were all watching fireworks and listening to humans screaming in joy far below. They were almost two thousand feet above the city; all the skyscrapers looked like little toys for a dollhouse, and the people looked as small as mites.

"I thought you didn't have any problems with Clan life?" he asked curiously, in his nice, deep voice.

"No, not really…." She stared down at the ground miserably. Staring two thousand feet down made her head spin. "I would always get presents for Christmas—another Twoleg holiday—and New Year's would be this big party where we would all drink Coke and wine, which are Twoleg drinks, and…." She trailed off, not being able to continue.

"Ah, yes. I see; I understand." Redtail nodded. "You miss your old home life. That's…. well, it's natural. We've had kittypets come into the Clan before, and realize around certain times that they _really_ missed their old Twoleg homes and owners, and all the things that they were missing there, and most of the time they would leave." He sighed wearily. He suddenly looked and sounded much older than he really was. "But…. you're not going to leave us, are you? Yellowstar's on his way out, and…. Well, how would you like to become the next deputy, after me, after I become leader?"

Claudia stared. "No, I…. I couldn't. I'm not a cat, I'm…."

"But even though you _are_ a human, you are the perfect soul for the job," Redtail reminded her. Claudia felt her heart rise with pride. He had actually used the word 'human'!

"Yeah, I guess," she murmured.

"Look! It's starting," a cat called. Claudia had already told them about the clock towers ringing in the new year, and all the cheers that would come up from the city, and all that.

A light snow began to fall. Redtail pressed up close against Claudia; to keep warm, she guessed. And, together, they heard the midnight bells ring, and they watched the old year's end.


	63. Fire

***le rolls eyes* ^^; At first, I uploaded the *wrong* chapter.... But this is the right one! Enjoysies!!!! ^^; 8D **

** DX I have to go to some _*stupid*_ piano recital.... Ah, wells! See y'all laters!!!! ^^; 8D (Maybe I can even get my parents to pop into Big Al's afterwards!!!! :3) ^^; :S **

* * *

100 Tales 63

Fire

"Fire alone can save our Clan."

It was a prophecy that Spottedleaf told Bluestar about many moons ago. I never knew that it was me—_me_—the weak little old kittypet who joined ThunderClan. But, no; Bluestar _knew_ that fire was in her Clan, and she _knew_ that they could thrive with fire in their ranks.

So.... why did Bluestar never believe me about Tigerclaw, then? Oh, I mean Tiger_star_, but whatever. If I had been trying to _warn_ her the entire time, then why did she break down so badly?! Why did _I_, still just a young warrior, have to practically take over the Clan?!

And then, I saved the forest by having Tigerstar.... umm.... killed, by Scourge. I helped save the Clans when we had to leave.... My Clan has always been the most helpful, the most kind one out of _all_ of them. We help cats in need.

So, then, why do the other Clans _hate_ us? I mean, they seem to hate us with a _passion_. Great StarClan, I absolutely _hate_ Onestar. He is _so_ rude and he betrayed me....

Oh, right.... that Leafpool scandal. I understand that those two are my daughters, and all; but seriously, they went over the _line_! I just wish that Hollyleaf hadn't announced it to all the Clans—I was forced to exile Squirrelflight and Leafpool, and Hollyleaf killed herself.... Brambleclaw was _heart-broken_. Squirrelflight _lied_ to him, after all!

I could go on. But StarClan was right—fire _did_ save ThunderClan. Only not in the way that anybody expected.


	64. Victory

**GUESS WHAT. I have serious writers' block. Like, seriously; I can't write *ANYTHINGS*. :o As a result, I had to go through my *old* files (the ones on my old computer ^^;) and I *did* dredge up a little somethin's.... ^^; Please *enjoys*!!!! :D I'll have to go deeper in my memory stick to find even *more* files, thoughsies, laters.... ^^; Here is what I have left, to (roughly) give you an idea of what I have and have not done so far: **

67) obsessed

69) secrets

70) thunder spots

71) sky

72) ruined

73) you'll never know

74) different

75) shadows

76) but it's not like that

77) light

78) breakdown

80) how I used to be

81) wanna be

82) exchange

83) before the storm

85) I'm on my way

86) please, NO

87) losing control

88) not the same

89) ghost

90) costume(Mask)

91) present

92) who are u

93) bleed it out

94) zero

95) forever

97) so cold

98) final

99) death

**And, well, I'm *working* on Final, but since.... Well, yeahs. DX I started trying to write Victory, wrote this: **One day, two kits were talking about Tigerstar **and well kind of scratched that, so I tried **One day, two kits were talking about dead cats and their conversation turned to Tigerstar** and, like, literally; I practically immediately burst out into tears and cried, "Screw this writers' block!"**

**O_O; I simply do *not* know where my talent has gone; I can do writing all fine and well at _school_, and some of my more recent chapters on this have been done, theres; but, obviously, it won't be fast enough.... rightsies? :( **

**Well, _ANYWAYS_ :: I've kept you waiting long enoughs; now, why don't we enjoy a finely written chapter for a story that I *was* gonna go, but then stopped?! ^^; Oh, yeah; and this chapter concludes in Chapter 79 or somethings.... I'm afraid that I can't remember; sorry, guys. ;D **

**Enjoys! ^^; **

* * *

100 Tales 64

Victory

Today, Vixen introduced me to something new: the daily beating.

"Go over there and lie down, belly side up," she told me, pointing to a flat, raised rock at the other side of the clearing. I obediently trotted over and lay down. I noticed another, smaller rock beside the one I was lying on, and Vixen stepped up onto it.

"Place your paws here, here, here, and here," she told me, signaling to some open metal cuffs, or shackles. I lay my paws down in them and she snapped the shackles shut.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" she laughed. "It's an introduction to the daily beating. It's when I claw you, and you try to stay silent, while taking all of the pain…."

"But, _why?!_" I wanted to know.

"We need to test your inner strength," Vixen told me. "A young cat like you must grow up, accustomed to pain, and the best way to do it is this."

"It's for the best," I meowed brightly.

She laughed, a high, silvery soprano laugh. "Indeed. You are right. Now, let's begin."

She unsheathed her claws and brought them down onto my soft underbelly. I almost squeaked, because it hurt, but I remembered that I had to stay silent, so I did. Instead, my watering eyes watched her, fascinated with every move Vixen took.

She sunk her claws deep into my underbelly, and slowly dragged them across my belly, under my throat. Blood oozed out. She then bit down hard on the wound, and I wriggled.

"Don't move!" she ordered. I stayed still.

She sunk her claws into my tail and pulled hard. Then, she slowly sunk a claw into the side of my throat. She bit down on my chest. Then, she slashed open a gash in my side. Blood poured out, onto the ground. Then, she bit my belly and raked my haunches with her claws, all at the same time, and sat up, licking the blood off her paws. She undid the shackles.

"I think that's enough for now," she said, in between licks. "Get up, please." I obediently did as I was told and struggled up.

I didn't know, then, that I was only being deceived; _supposedly,_ if you trained a kit to take torture and all that _before_ you actually started _really_ torturing them, the shock was not so great. Well.... for me, it was.

She had achieved a small victory over me there, I must admit. But not for long—I ran away as soon as I heard her thoughts that day.... And I made it safely back to my Clan!


	65. Defeat

** :P Betrayal, ehs.... : **

**Wells, enjoysies!!!! ^^; **

100 Tales 65

Defeat

It was a peaceful morning in RiverClan. Every cat was in the camp, and they had _just_ finished having Leaffire, Lightflower, and Thorntail's warrior ceremonies.

Leaffire and Thorntail were lying next to the fresh-kill pile with their friends Dappletail and Waterwhisker. Lightflower was in the nursery, visiting the kits with her soon-to-be mate (she really, really, _really_ liked this cat) Redpaw. Redpaw was sometimes arrogant and mean, and Leaffire and Thorntail thought that Lightflower shouldn't hang out with him, but the two cats loved each other—too much to ever be torn apart.

"They're just jealous," Lightflower declared, thinking of it.

"Who?" Redpaw looked over at her, concerned.

"My siblings," Lightflower explained.

"Ah," Redpaw conceded. "Jealous of what?" he teased, even though he _knew_, and he knew perfectly well.

"Us." Lightflower frowned. "They keep telling me that you're bad, but...."

"And, what; you're going to let them get you down and admit defeat?" Now Redpaw was frowning, too.

"No, of course not!" Lightflower purred. "Let's go hunting."

"Sure. Lead the way," Redpaw mewed, gesturing with his tail, and the two young lovers were off.

Meanwhile, Leaffire and Thorntail were planning something sinister.

"Is BloodClan ready to take them?" asked Leaffire.

"Yeah." Thorntail nodded. "I just talked to Claw last night." Claw was the leader of BloodClan. "Sandy Thorn—the slave trainer—is ready for them, too. There are some extra cages, and Lightflower can be turned loose to the toms."  
Leaffire nodded. "_Wonderful_," she purred. "Where are they?"

"I saw them going into the forest—something about hunting?" Thorntail cocked his head to one side.

"Probably," Thorntail conceded. "Let's go. You are the fastest runner; you can run to BloodClan's headquarters quickly and get them, right?"

Leaffire nodded.

"Right, then, let's go. You run and I'll.... Well, I'll just go and 'visit' them in the forest until you get back...." Thorntail decided with a grin.

Both cats rushed off to do their 'duties'. It was a perfect revenge to their sister for taking Redpaw! (Leaffire _had_ wanted him, but Lightflower took him, and Redpaw refused to like her, _anyways_, so....)

Thorntail was 'hunting' with Lightflower and Redpaw when Leaffire rushed in.

"It's BloodClan! They-They're coming!" she gasped, trying to look frightened.

Thorntail, playing along with the part, gasped. "Oh, no! We've got to warn the camp!" But there was a gleam in his eyes that only Leaffire could detect, and she now knew that he was still on the case.

But they didn't get very far, for suddenly BloodClan cats exploded from the bushes.

Leaffire leaped on Lightflower and Thorntail on Redpaw. Redpaw hissed, spitting and nipping.

"Let me _go_!" he spat.

Lightflower flailed her claws all about, but neither cat was able to get out of their Clanmates' grip.

The BloodClan cats surrounded the clearing, and parted to let two cats pass—one was a tall, lean gray tom with amber eyes, and another one was a dark brown tom with long fur and amber eyes.

"Ah, yes; hello, Sandy Thorn, greetings, Claw." Thorn kept one sharp, clawed paw on Redpaw, and nodded to the two cats. Sandy Thorn was dragging a cage behind him.

"Greetings." Claw nodded, and surveyed Redpaw and Lightflower with sharp, accusing eyes. "Are these the two slaves you promised to let me have?"

"Yes, Claw." Leaffire nodded.

"The tom—is he agile enough to be a hunting and fighting army slave?"

"Yes, Claw." Leaffire and Thorntail both nodded this time.

"And the she-cat—is she good enough to be a sex slave?" Claw requested.

"Yes, Claw." Thorntail nodded, and laughed. "Lightflower, I hope you don't mind, that I was kind of poking around down there around your pussy, while you slept, last night...."

Lightflower just glared, but couldn't do or say anything, since now there was a _muzzle_ on her mouth!!

"She's still a virgin, Claw," explained Thorntail.

"Good, good." Claw laughed. "She can be mine—I don't have a mate yet, and I need one."

"Very nice," Sandy Thorn agreed.

"Throw them in the cage!" Claw declared.

Leaffire and Thorntail threw the two cats into the cage. They huddled together, staring up at their captors with wide, scared, and, in Redpaw's case, arrogant eyes.

"Guess we have to _finally_ admit defeat," sighed Redpaw to Lightflower under his breath once the cage had been closed and they were off, being taken to some cats' camp in the middle of Twolegplace.

"Yeah," Lightflower sighed, watching the two other cats still sitting in the forest with triumphant faces disappear. They crossed the border, and a few Thunderpaths, and Twolegs and cats alike stared. Finally, they were in BloodClan's camp.

_Defeat sucks,_ Redpaw thought. _Really, it does. I'll never get to become a warrior because of _this_, now! Great StarClan, I absolutely _hate_ admitting defeat._


	66. Unfinished

**Ooh, mysterious. *le yawns* ^^; **

* * *

100 Tales 66

Unfinished

It was a peaceful day. The sun shone over the forest, lighting up dust motes floating through the air, and the air rent a warm breeze. Down in a sunny little, yet sheltered, glade, two cats talked, their voices rising barely above the trees.

"So? Can you _please_ tell me?" demanded Bluestar. _Great StarClan, Yellowfang is _difficult_!_

"Scourge still has unfinished business with the Clans, whether they're alive, in StarClan, or in the Dark Forest or not," Yellowfang finally conceded.

"Well.... That _could_ be a problem," Bluestar finally admitted, making a face.

Jayfeather's heart rose with hope. "So.... Do you believe me?" he asked hopefully.

His hope, however temporary, was crushed as Yellowfang turned to glare at him.

"About what, Jayfeather?" she snapped.

"Err, about that Dovekit already knows...." Jayfeather began.

"Of _course_ not," Yellowfang snapped, cutting him off.

"Well, _I_ believe him." A cat stepped forward.

Yellowfang scoffed. "Nightstar."

"Yes, it is me," Nightstar declared, bowing his head. "If this...."

"Dovekit," Jayfeather helpfully reminded him.

"Right." He nodded his head, and went on. "If this _Dovekit_ really _is_ one of the Three, why shouldn't she have any prophetic dreams?"

"Yeah, Yellowfang!" Mosskit stepped around the former old ThunderClan medicine cat, followed by Blossomkit. "I think you're being too sceptical!"

Yellowfang sighed. "Fine."

"Yay!" The kit squealed. "She listened to me!"

"Well, _I_ think that being in StarClan so long and being so supposedly '_important_' has gotten to Yellowfang's head," teased Nightstar, nudging Bluestar.

She purred back and entwined her tail with Oakheart's, who was on her other side. "I agree."

"Heheh. Me, too," Oakheart agreed, nodding his head.

Yellowfang stormed off into the bushes.

Bluestar turned to the other cats; they were still remaining in their spots, and were watching Yellowfang's disappearance curiously.

"Now, as I was saying, Scourge still has some _unfinished business_ with the Clans...." Bluestar began slowly.


	67. Obsessed

100 Tales 67

Obsessed

Does love at first sight, or love later on, mean that you are obsessed? Does love in _itself_ mean that you are obsessed? I don't _think_ so....

I mean, literally; I am Wildfeather, the absolutely _biggest_ Mary Sue of my _entire_ Clan, and I have fallen in love with a tom—Darkfeather. Everybody always teases, "Oh, she's obsessed about something; _yay_, she is _not_ a Mary Sue anymore!"

But I disagree. I quite actually _like_ my title of Mary Sue, and besides—it's like cats in my Clan like to _taunt_ me about it. Which I find very saddening, mind you....

Okay, well, maybe I _am_ a little obsessed with the fact that Darkfeather loves me for who I _am_, and he _doesn't_ just seem to hate me—like all the _rest_ of my Clanmates—for being a Mary Sue.

But.... I am _not_ obsessed! That's the only thing that I have to say—despite my supposed claims to be, I am _not_ obsessed!!


	68. What Do U Think

**:3 Kits!!!! ^^; **

* * *

What Do U Think

"What do you think?" Leafspots whispered to her mate. "Are they beautiful kits, or what?!"

"I think that they are _very_ beautiful kits!" Thunderstorm purred.

"Look! That little gray-and-white spotted one looks _just_ like you!" Leafspots pointed out.

"So? What are you naming these kits?" Thunderstorm asked. "There are four of them, so how about _I_ pick two names and _you_ pick two names?"

"I can agree with that. I'll go first," Leafspots decided, closing her eyes; she was _apparently_ deep in thought. "Hmm…. how about the little gray-and-white tom that looks _just_ like you is called…. Lightningkit?" she decided, opening her eyes and resting her tail on the little sleeping tom's shoulder.

"And the small light brown tabby she-cat that looks slightly like _you_ can be called Spottedkit," Thunderstorm purred back.

"And the mottled orangey-brown she-cat can be called…. hmm…. how about Fallkit?" Leafspots proposed.

"That's a _wonderful_ name! Okay, I get to pick the last one, here goes; the little gray tom with white speckles can be called Snowkit!" purred Thunderstorm.

"Wonderful!" purred Birdcloud, one of the queens, from across the nursery. "I'm sure you're _very_ proud of your mate and your first litter, aren't you, Thunderstorm?!" she checked, purring happily all the while.

"Why, _yes_!" mewed Thunderstorm happily. "I wouldn't _not_ be proud of Leafspots and these kits for absolutely _anything_! Not _anything_ in the world!"


	69. Secrets

100 Tales 69

Secrets

Lots of cats in ThunderClan have secrets. The leader has secrets. The warriors have secrets.

_You_ have secrets.

Heck, even _I_ have secrets!

I disappeared as a kit. Everybody wondered where I was. The truth was, I was in Twolegplace, in

a cage, being held against my own will. I wasn't happy—far from it. I was fed dung and tortured

every day.

One day, I was sold to some nicer cats who, coincidentally, lived on a farm near the Clans. Their

names were Night and Dune. They were _trying_ to save us little innocent kits from the wrath of

our slave owners. They didn't get to save _every_ kit, however; since even with the amount that

they and the kits on their farm hunt every moon, some cats still had more and besides, it would

look a little suspicious if they were taking _every_ kit.

They did every third kit, or so. I got lucky! I was taken by them, and released back to my Clan

after only two moons of this torture. Of course, I had to stay on their farm for a week or so,

first—I had to heal my wounds and clean my fur, and act like I _wasn't_ so hungry that I could eat

the moon! Luckily, when I went back to my Clan, my secret was never discovered. I simply told

them that I had been out on an adventure or something like that at the time, and I had simply

decided to come back.


	70. Thunder Spots

100 Tales 70

Thunder Spots

"Let's go on a hunting patrol!" Redtail declared. The four cats that he had chosen to go with him—Greenflower, Lilypetal, Thorntail, and myself, Amberheart—raced out of the camp with him.

Once outside the camp, we went to the side of our territory that wasn't bordering any other Clans' territories. The hunting was usually pretty good there, and besides, it was overlooking a swamp (our territory was on a slight cliff _above_ the swamp).

Since it was pretty good hunting area, I suggested, "Why don't we split up? We might be able to find more, that way."

Redtail nodded. "Good idea. Five cats is sort of an awkwardly numbered patrol group to split up evenly, but.... Thorntail, why don't you go with Amberheart, and Lilypetal and Greenflower can go together?"

The two she-cats nodded. I nodded, and Thorntail narrowed his eyes, and _then_ nodded.

_What's _his_ problem?_ I wondered, flicking my ears in frustration. He teased me sometimes. I was in no mood for his taunts today, so I asked Redtail, "May I please stay here and guard?" When Redtail looked sceptical, I quickly added, "You know, those clouds seem pretty dark...." He nodded.

"Just stay out of trouble. We'll bring our prey back to you, and then we'll go back to camp," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. I nodded.

"Yes, Redtail."

"Good." And he leaped off into the bushes. I walked up to the peak of the cliff and stared at the sky.

Every so often, the cats would come back to drop off prey. Redtail and Thorntail were going together, and the two older she-cats were a pair, too. Pretty soon, they had amassed quite a big pile of prey, and Redtail and Thorntail had _just_ come to drop off more. They turned to leave, but.... "Wait," I warned. They turned back.

"Look." I pointed my nose up at the sky. Every so often, some thunder and lightning had been flashing. "This is _probably_ nothing serious, but...."

I watched as the sky lit up again. I briefly saw Thorntail nod. It was getting quite cloudy, and dark, and Redtail was surveying the area, but pretty soon he nodded, too.

"Amberheart is right. We can't stay any longer. _Greenflower! Lilypetal!_" he yowled, at the top of his lungs.

The two she-cats appeared from the bushes in an instant, with their jaws full of prey.

"What?" Greenflower complained. "We were just _coming_! No need to scare us—"

Redtail cut her off. "This is serious. We need to get back to camp. Look." He nodded, and Thorntail and I moved aside to show them the thunder and lightning hitting the swamp in the distance. "We can't stay any longer. I'm predicting that this could be a full-blown storm before very long; probably not, but we have no need to take any chances, either."

We each picked up some prey and headed back to camp. On the way off the cliff, I glanced back down to the swamp and saw the thunder and lightning again. It seemed to be getting closer, rumbling in my ears, and I shivered.

_I wonder if this is what you could call 'thunder spots'? Thunder in no particular place?_ I thought, curiously. But, I shook off the thought, and I headed back to camp with the others.


	71. Sky

100 Tales 71

Sky

Sky.

Sky is an outcast among Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow.

Oh, and Star. Which I am a part of.

But _anyway_. You want to hear about SkyClan, Dovekit? Okay. I can tell you! I am Cloudstar, the leader of SkyClan when they were driven out of the forest.

The Twolegs descended on our camp one fine morning. They had been coming to our territory a few times before—but we thought nothing of it. But tonight, however, was the night of the Gathering, and we were all preparing. We thought nothing of the Twolegs, but then…. All of a sudden, they came into our camp.

Big, huge monsters, crushing our dens. We were able to get the kits out—Thank StarClan!—and save all of the elders. Their dens were on the other side of camp from where the monsters were crushing—first, they crushed the warriors' and apprentices' dens. The few cats that were in there came rushing out, wailing and screaming. They had been asleep, and they hadn't heard the monsters approaching. The rest of us, however, had, and the few cats that were in the camp sprang into action right _away_.

Well, anyways, we hid under a bush or two at the edge of our territory, where our territory bordered ThunderClan. We were just glad that they hadn't sent any patrols, or anything, otherwise they would have sent us away, and we didn't want that. We didn't want to go back in to what was once our territory, but not anymore.

We spent the entire day, until the Gathering, watching our territory being destroyed. From time to time, patrols of only the _strongest_ warriors were sent into the heart of the territory, to survey the damage, and report back to us.

The first patrol reported that they had completely annihilated the camp. This was really sad news to us, since that camp had been being used by SkyClan cats for generations upon _generations_.

The second patrol reported that they had started to hack away at the tall trees in our territory. It was a rather small territory, not exactly spanning a very huge area, so by the time that the _third_ patrol came back and reported, half of our territory was…. _gone_. _Gone_, just like that….

We went to the Gathering for help at sundown. However—the other Clans didn't _want_ to help us. We left, feeling humiliated and betrayed. Once we got to the gorge, and the rats attacked us, we scattered.

And, until SkyClan was restored by Firestar that fateful day, SkyClan was no more.


	72. Ruined

100 Tales 72

Ruined

"Ruined! It's all _ruined_! BirdClan is…. BirdClan is _broken_!"

The leader of the ruined Clan was letting out a painful yowl. A group of rogues, whom of which were living _just_ outside of the territory, had attacked, just that afternoon. They had outnumbered the Clan cats, and had taken the queens and kits, killed the elders, and killed as many other cats as they could. The leader used to have five lives left; now, she only had two.

"I…. I…." A cat next to her opened its eyes. It was an apprentice, Orangepaw. She looked at her leader with wide scared eyes.

"Vinestar….? What happened….?" she asked, rather fearfully.

"W—W—We were attacked by rogues. You have amnesia?" Vinestar asked, surprised.

"I…. I guess so." Orangepaw looked down at herself. "That—That's funny. I—I d-don't even rememb-ber getting hit." She was covered with scratches.

"Ooh, well; you're lucky, then." Vinestar sighed. "Time to go and find out which cats are dead, or not."

A couple of cats crept through the camp's entrance. It was the medicine cat, Amberleaf, along with her apprentice, Willowpaw, and two pregnant queens, Sunflower and Flowerpetal, and three younger kits, Leafkit, Sandykit, and Rockkit. Vinestar had sent them away to save themselves once it seemed to be getting _really_ bad.

_It was the right choice,_ she commended herself. _Good job, me!_

"Oh, good! You're alive." Amberleaf hurried over to Vinestar and Orangepaw. "Oh, and Orangepaw…." She glanced around the camp. "It looks like a lot of cats died, doesn't it….?"

"Yeah." Vinestar nodded. "We've been ruined. Now, let's go see who exactly survived, and who, unfortunately, didn't."

****

In the end, the cats that survived were Vinestar, the leader; Amberleaf and Willowpaw, the medicine cats; Violeteyes, Sandtail, Whitefoot, Lilycloud, and Windypool, of the warriors; Orangepaw, Blackpaw, and Whitepaw, of the apprentices; Sunflower and Flowerpetal, of the queens, and Leafkit, Sandykit, and Rockkit, of the kits. BirdClan wasn't _very_ lucky, in that almost three quarters of their cats had died—but at least _some_ of them were still alive, and because of the queens and the kids, BirdClan would be back to normal in _no_ time!!

"BirdClan has been ruined, but we will soon become strong again!" Vinestar declared, standing on top of Highrock. And, her Clan agreed with her.


	73. You'll Never Know

100 Tales 73

You'll Never Know

"Let's play a game!" Firepaw decided, one sunny afternoon in greenleaf, while he and Greenpaw were hunting. They were on a journey with their friends.

"Sure!" Greenpaw agreed happily. "….What? What do you want to play?"

"Let's play a quiz game! Let's see what you can remember about our forest and Clanmates back home," Firepaw challenged, sitting down, and wrapping his tail around his paws.

"Sure!" Greenpaw declared, her eyes sparkling. "You may now begin, and ask me a question."

"All right." Firepaw chuckled. "Who is the medicine cat?"

"Goldenleaf!" Greenpaw laughed. "That was _easy_!"

"Right." Firepaw nodded. "Who is the elder, Greenleaf's, eldest daughter?"

"Redheart, the deputy," answered Greenpaw, easily.

"That's right!" Firepaw laughed. "Wow, you really _do_ seem to know _quite_ a lot about your home…."

"Of course! I was just _there_! Of _course_ I know, stupid-head!" Greenpaw laughed, swatting him with a paw. Firepaw ducked.

"Ooh, missed me!" he taunted.

"Not for long!" Greenpaw hurled herself at him, and was pretty soon pinning him down, her weight pushing him to the ground. He struggled to get upright, but Greenpaw was holding him quite tightly, so it was no use."

"Ah, okay." He sighed dramatically. "I give up."

"Great!" Greenpaw leaped off of him, her eyes sparkling. "What's the next question?"

"Umm, right…. Hmm, this is a really hard one; which she-cat did I have a crush on before I met you?"

Greenpaw thought for a second. She realized that she didn't know. Firepaw _had_ liked another she-cat, that is, but only until she was born. Then, he was all for her. "Give me a hint, _please_!" she begged.

"Nope." Firepaw shook his head. He was _laughing_.

"Please????"

"You'll never know." Firepaw's eyes sparked with amusement as Greenpaw tried vainly to guess.

"Dogpaw?"

"Nope."

"Is it…. Hmm…. Is it Amberheart?"

"Nope."

"Errmmm…. Leafpaw?" Greenpaw guessed.

"Oh, you got me!" Firepaw laughed.

"That was a wild guess!" Greenpaw chuckled. "But…. I guess that I _got_ it! Wa-hoo!"

"Heheheh." Firepaw laughed.

They both laughed, and decided that, with their current hunting catches, that they would go back to their friends' camp.


	74. Different

100 Tales 73

Different

I've always been different from my Clanmates. Different how, you ask? Well, first of all, I was born was a kinked tail. The medicine cat (who was old and crazy at that time, I might add) thought I was a bad omen. Cats regarded me with suspicion, but I _still_ grew up to be a good cat, all the same.

I've known many other cats to be different, too—although maybe not like _I_ am. First of all, Firestar was different than most other forest cats—he was born a kitty pet, but he had the spirit of a true-blooded warrior, and he was kind, and opening to cats in need, and rather forgiving, as well. I felt sorry for him when he was absolutely _devastated_ by Onestar's nastiness—that's something that _I'll_ never forgive Onestar for, either!!

Also, there was Tigerstar. He was different in that he was trained by ambitious cats, so, that, by the time he actually _became_ a warrior, all he could think about were power, power hunger—and greed. Sure, he was a good warrior, but a warrior's hunting and fighting skills don't mean absolutely _everything_—say _nothing_ of the fact that a warrior needs a good heart to be even a halfway _decent_ warrior, at least in my book—and look what he turned out to be in the end! Yes, that's right; a _murderer_!

So, I was different, but not in a very significant way. I just sure hope, though, that the stories of Tigerstar and Firestar will remain for a long time—_quite_ a long time!


	75. Shadows

100 Tales 75

Shadows

The wind blows in ShadowClan's territory, casting dark shadows over their hearts. They are all dark, and evil, and….

Or so they say.

_I'll_ tell you something—I am Amberleaf, a member of ShadowClan. And, _sure_, I'm a medicine cat; but I know—for a _fact_—that ShadowClan is not dark and evil. In fact, they are _really_ just like any other Clan—and, this is why they say this—and we are stereotyped.

Listen, y'alls; I _hate_ it, I absolutely _hate_ it that no cat wants to trust ShadowClan because of a silly rumour!! _Sure_, we have lost our faith in StarClan before, _sure_, we are skeptical; but we are _hardly_ as bad as those other Clans!!

I mean, look at RiverClan—they eat fish, and they are the Clan with the sleekest coats, and the best ability (or so _they_ say, and want to believe)—swimming. They think that they are _sooooo_ great, and they boast about it, from day to day.

Now, let's see…. WindClan. They are weak, and…. well, weird. They decided to turn against ThunderClan, and, in an effort to show _just_ how much greater they are—Pshaww! Disillusioned liars—they invaded ThunderClan's territory, and Heathertail abused Lionblaze's trust in her, and showed her Clan the tunnels.

WindClan is even worse than _ThunderClan_, say!

ThunderClan thinks that they are _sooooo_ great—they try to keep helping, and helping, and they often make bad choices in the process. However, compared to WindClan and RiverClan?—Well, we don't really _mind_ them. _They_ are the cats less likely to cross on any Clans' borders…. Which _does_ make them easier targets, I guess—but, at least they don't cause us _too_ much trouble!

The rumour about the wind and the shadows is _wrong_. That's all I have to say.


	76. But It's Not Like That

100 Tales 76

But It's Not Like That

"Do you want to hunt with me, Icepaw?" Nightpaw, a tom that was my friend in my Clan, offered to me early one morning.

"Uhmm—sure," I stammered. "I mean, it's not like I have any _other_ superbly-important things to do, this morning…."

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Let's go."

Out in the forest, he sat me in a clearing. It was a sheltered glade, surrounded by ferns and long grasses, and nobody except us would ever know that we had been there. There was no other _cat_ scent in it at _all_, for that matter….

"I have a confession to make about you, Icepaw," he began, with a shaky, deep breath, and a worried, nervous smile.

"Yes?" I looked at him, and cocked my head expectantly.

"I love you, Icepaw."

"But…."

"I want you to be my mate, my precious little Icepaw. We've been friends for far too long. Will you be my mate?"

"B-But—" I _finally_ blurted out; then stopped. Nightpaw misjudged what I was going to say, and he laid his tail gently over my mouth.

"Shhhh," he murmured gently. "It's all right, m'dear. You don't have to worry…. The Clan won't mind, I'm sure."

"But…. I have something to say," I blurted out guiltily. "I…. I don't like you like that, Nightpaw. I'm sorry, but it's not like that."

Nightpaw laughed. "I'm sure you're just teasing, you—"

"_No._" I stood firm. "I do _not_ like you like that, Nightpaw. I don't _want_ to be your mate. I just want to remain friends. I'm sorry," I murmured gently.

"I—It's okay." He looked distraught, just standing there. He pulled himself away from me. "Of—Of course. I was just kidding, you know."

"No, you weren't kidding. I know that." I looked him in the eyes. "But…. And it breaks my heart to say this, but…. I am in love with _Redpaw_, Nightpaw; not _you_."

He walked miserably away. "But I thought…."

"I'm sorry, Nightpaw," I repeated after him. "But it's not like that."


	77. Light

100 Tales 77

Light

"Attack!"

As soon as Blackstar made the declaration, the ShadowClan cats _leaped_ into battle with a feeling of eagerness so strong that, usually, other cats cowered before them. WindClan, however; it was, well…. _different_. _They_ leaped into battle with a confidence that couldn't be matched, too. They gave ShadowClan cocky stares, and _immediately_ proceeded to try to rip ShadowClan's camp apart. Unfortunately, ShadowClan was outnumbered.

WindClan had picked up a bunch of rogues from Twolegplace, and they weren't fighting fair. They had already taken ThunderClan earlier than day, and they _still_ had cats and rogues to spare. Therefore, they were going after ShadowClan, now.

Rowanclaw and Tawnypelt were guarding the nursery. Tawnypelt trembled in fear as a big warrior came up to them. Five more smaller, more eager-looking ones followed behind. Tawnypelt gulped.

_Is this _really_ how many cats that they have to spare?! Wow, this is just _outrageous_!!_ Tawnypelt thought, with a flash of fury.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you," Rowanclaw whispered in her ear. Tawnypelt just nodded, frozen in fear, staring with shocked eyes at the scene in front of her.

Four of the cats surrounded them so that they couldn't escape, and the other two pounced on them. The smaller one threw Tawnypelt to the side, and two others _immediately_ rushed to hold her down.  
"What better punishment," one mewed gleefully. "Is there to a ThunderClan helper, then to watch her mate die?! None, I tell you, _none_!"

He started to rip Rowanclaw apart. Tawnypelt let out a pained yowl as her mate was tortured…. Tortured to his death.

They ripped a gash in his throat, and then…. They left. They just left them alone. And all Tawnypelt could see…. was Rowanclaw.

"I can see the _light_! Tawnypelt, please…. Please stay loyal to me," Rowanclaw gasped.

Tawnypelt leaned in close. "Don't worry…. I'm right here, and I'll never be loyal to any other tom but you," she promised.

"I can see the light…." Rowanclaw murmured, in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.

And then, the light left his eyes. He went limp. He stopped struggling. A faint glaze started to spread itself over the lens of his eyes.

Tawnypelt let out an agonized yowl. Her mate, the one tomcat that she had loved for _so_ long, was dead.


	78. Breakdown

100 Tales 78

Breakdown

"The breakdown of her mind began slowly," Lisa began. Her cat, Princess, watched her with interest. She was hearing what had become of ThunderClan after they had left. For _some_ reason, all of their adventures seemed to be in human books—not that Princess minded, of course, simply because she could _still_ hear about her beloved son, Cloudtail! She had laughed and yowled and cried at different stories about Cloudtail, but now, she wanted to hear about his family. Or, at least, _one_ of her family—Hollypaw, or, rather, Hollyleaf.

"_First_ of all, she believed in the warrior code. It was her guide—much like God is to us humans, I suppose." Princess nodded. "Hollyleaf thought that the warrior code was stronger than _anything_. She didn't believe that she and her siblings could be stronger than her precious code—in fact; the code was her entire _world_." Lisa laughed. "After she found out about Squirrelflight's lie—Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw _didn't_ turn out to be her parents, after _all_—she was in a constant state of pain. Pain, pain, pain, heartbreak—that's all her mind was."

Lisa took a deep breath, quickly flipped through the pages of her book, and went on.

"So, she made a pact to find out about who her parents were. First, of course, she needed to kill Ashfur—she couldn't let a cat who was about to give up their secret go; oh, _no_!"

Princess's eyes widened at this. _My kin…. Hollyleaf…. Killed…. Ashfur?_

"So, she killed him. She killed him on the WindClan border, with just a quick nip on the neck. Then, she tossed the dead body into the stream. The blood washed away.

"Her intent was for his body to be washed down the stream into the lake and never be seen again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen—I forget exactly _what_ happened, but either it caught in some reeds or got stuck on a rock. Either way, ThunderClan found it—but they thought that WindClan had done it. The truth was, Hollyleaf did it, of course; but they didn't know that. But, soon, they would….

"Later on, the Three found out that their parents were _actually_ Leafpool and Crowfeather. Jayfeather and Lionblaze weren't affected too much by this—Jayfeather was just excited at the new dreaming possibilities; and Lionblaze….? Well, Lionblaze hoped that some of his father's Clanmates' skills for fighting would rub off on him."

Princess stared up at Lisa with wide eyes. _Wow! What turmoil ThunderClan was in!_

But Lisa wasn't finished, just _yet_. "When the Gathering came, Hollyleaf made absolutely _sure_ that she could go. She vowed that _this_ was a Gathering that no cat would _ever_ forget—_never_. She asked to speak in the middle of the Gathering—Firestar said no, but she said it was important, so the other Clans wanted to hear, and Firestar just _had_ to let her _say_ it—and, the truth was shocking. Cats were stunned, and Leafpool went after Crowfeather. Crowfeather rejected her. Same thing happened with Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw rejected _her_. They both were devastated.

"Hollyleaf rushed back home. She put deathberries in a mouse for Leafpool, but Leafpool simply asked her, 'I've lost _everything_. What do you think would be easier for me to do; die, or keep on living?' Or, at least, she said _something_ along those lines." Lisa was babbling along excitedly. "She stepped aside to let Leafpool pass. Leafpool left. I'm guessing that maybe Squirrelflight left with her….? Well, _anyways_; I'm assuming that both of them just _left_." Lisa nodded. "Yes, that's it. Anyways, that's when her brothers found her. Or, at least, Jayfeather did. She ran away from him, and he got Lionblaze and they both chased after her. She raced into the old, abandoned tunnels, where they collapsed, and I guess she died."

Lisa sighed. "So, that's the story; I'm not _really_ sorry for Hollyleaf, since she was such a freak, _anyways_, but, yeah, y'know."

Princess just nodded. She had learned a _lot_; and now, she just wanted some alone time to be able to take it all in.


	79. Losing My Mind

100 Tales 79

Losing My Mind

I walked along the winter forest, plodding through bushes and all that kind of foresty stuff. I was walking towards the place where the human neighborhoods started; along the place where the first, big house was.

I walked through the snow, in the trail I had made days before. It was a nice trail. The snow was deep, but my trail was wide and therefore, it was a good place to be walking. My tail swished through the trees' low branches.

I emerged out into the clearing with my favourite tree in it, and with the human house. Only…. something was different. I sniffed the air. _Danger scent._ I looked out into the bushes across the driveway of the house, startled when I saw a pair of malicious yellow eyes staring back at my big blue ones.

Finally, I was able to shake myself off of the scary glare, and my instincts came back to me.

_I decided to run._

I wasn't sure what that cat was doing there, but it could only be for something bad. It started to get colder, and I fluffed up my fur.

When I was _sure_ that I had gone a long way, I sat down for a little bit to rest. I licked my paws for a bit to get the ice out of my pads, and then I looked, wide-eyed, back behind me. My trained eyes searched through the undergrowth, and to my horror, _I saw them._

The yellow eyes.

Not only that, but other eyes, too.

All the eyes of the cats who were coming for me.

I got up and started racing through the forest. They had just been strolling leisurely when I saw them; not too fast but not too slow, either.

The day progressed much like this. I ran, sat down for a bit of a break, and then got going yet again.

I kept seeing the eyes. _Am I going nuts?! Am I losing my _mind_?!_ I wondered desperately.


	80. How I Used To Be

100 Tales 80

How I Used To Be

I used to be loyal to my Clan. I used to be a good little apprentice, always wanting the best for my Clanmates. I _could_ have grown up to be a loyal warrior….

All day staring at the ceiling

Making friends with shadows on my wall

All night hearing voices telling me

That I should get some sleep

Because tomorrow might be good for something

But, no; my mentor, Thistleclaw, was _mean_ to me. He worked me _really_ hard, and he taught me that power meant everything…. Blood, too.

Hold on

Feeling like I'm heading for a breakdown

And I don't know why

I remember that, at first, I was frightened. Who _was_ this vicious cat who was trying to teach me the ways of a bad Clan cat?! Who _was_ he?!

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired

I know right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be...me

But, eventually, I fell for him. Oh, yes; how I fell for him…. I thought he was one of the smartest cats in the Clan. I eagerly _lapped_ up all the advice he had to give me—like a dog.

I'm talking to myself in public

Dodging glances on the train

And I know, I know they've all been talking bout me

I can hear them whisper

And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me

Out of all the hours thinking

Somehow I've lost my mind

I later learned that Bluestar—then, Bluefur—had been watching us—she had _seen_ all the exchanges, yet…. She never did anything to _stop_ them. And then, she even went on to _trust_ me!! When _I_, myself, knew that I couldn't be trusted!! She went crazy, _mad_!! She believed the alien that inserted itself into my body when I died!!

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired

I know right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be

Yes, that's right; I died. I died a little inside, and went to StarClan. And then, an alien…. some _alien!_.... came and took over my brain. And Thistleclaw just thought that he had a good apprentice.

I've been talking in my sleep

Pretty soon they'll come to get me

Yeah, they're taking me away

In some ways, I regret what happened to my body. In others, I don't. ThunderClan has been in _such_ turmoil lately—I know, I know, I'm bad for saying this, but…. I'm glad that I wasn't _there_.

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired

I know right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be

Instead, you will find my spirit in Tigerkit, Tawnypelt's kit. Yes, that's right; you heard me right; I am in Tawnypelt's kit.

Yeah, how I used to be

How I used to be

Well, I'm just a little unwell

How I used to be

How I used to be

Oh, how I used to be; and will be once again!!


	81. Wannabe

100 Tales 81

Wanna Be

It was a normal day at the high school for the Clans. What was _not_ so normal, however, was the exchange that went on inside.

"Wannabe! Wannabe! You're just Ivypaw's wannabe!" taunted a ShadowClan she-cat's posse.

Icepaw backed up against the wall. "No!" she denied it. "I am _not_ a wannabe!"

"Oh, right; and it's as if you _really_ expect us to believe you," sighed Ivypaw dramatically, rolling her eyes up towards the ceiling.

"Seriously."

"Well…. Why did you try to tease Owlpaw, then?! You _know_ that only _we_ taunt Owlpaw!"

Icepaw widened her eyes, and feigned innocence. "Me? Why would_ I_ do that?" She hid a grin.

"Because," Ivypaw said threateningly, "You wanna be like _us_! You _want_ to take our place as the head clique of the school, don't you?!"

"N-No!" Icepaw protested.

"Give her a break." Hollypaw had suddenly appeared at her friend's side, her eyes shining. "Listen, I _know_ that you like to taunt _her_ and tease _her_, and that you think that _she_ wants to take over the school, but you're wrong. _I_ do!" she declared.

The girls tried to smile, but the smiles were frozen on their faces. Then, Ivypaw's hardened into a look of annoyance. "Do you _really_ think that you can do it?!" she hissed menacingly.

"Yes," Hollypaw said, _really_ confident right now. "I'm not just some wannabe, like _you_ are!"


	82. Exchange

100 Tales 82

Exchange

It was a weird day. Two cats in ThunderClan and ShadowClan had exchanged bodies—Tawnypelt and Squirrelflight. No, wait, that's not right…. What I meant to say is that they exchanged _Clans_. For a day, Tawnypelt was to be our mother, and Squirrelflight would be a mother to Tawnypelt's kits.

I miss Squirrelflight. I miss her scent, and I wish the way she was so familiar that I wouldn't ever feel lost. I feel…. Well, lost without her. Tawnypelt is great, and all, but she doesn't really _know_ me.

"Hey, Jaypaw." Tawnypelt came up to me. "So, what are you doing today?" She flinched, and she needed say no more. I _knew_ what she meant—would I be doing anything today, because I was blind? _Could_ I do anything today, because I was blind? I sighed.

"I'm helping Leafpool in the medicine cats' den," I replied.

"Oh." She walked away.

I could feel that my Clanmates felt somewhat…. well, they felt somewhat _awkward_ around Tawnypelt. It's not like they didn't have any rights _not_ to feel awkward, though…. Tawnypelt was from an enemy Clan!! Who knows, she might hear something, and then, the day after the exchange, then she might just go back to ShadowClan and tell them _everything_.

I stared—well, not really _stared_, but you get the point—as she walked away.


	83. Before The Storm

100 Tales 83

Before the storm

It's like the calm before the storm.

Everything is peaceful.

Quiet.

A little _too_ quiet.

The air is humid, and it is _so_ hot, even for a fine greenleaf day—all the prey is hiding in their holes, and we have _all_ had to drink out of the pool in the medicine cats' den to keep hydrated at least at _some_ part of the day; it is too hot to go out right now and the thunder clouds are swirling above the camp. Therefore, nobody _wants_ to go out! The storm could break out at any moment, and the medicine cat was just fretting that it looks dangerous and like it _could_ be deadly!

Harrumph, said one of the elders to that. They said that we shouldn't be so worried!

But even _they_ have had to drink out of the pool in the medicine cats' den to keep cool and hydrated, so _they_ shouldn't be scorning this so much!

The kits and the queens are in the medicine cats' den, and so are some of the (more sensitive!) elders; it is just too _hot_ for them out there!

And I? Well, I'm simply inside the leader's den. I'm just _telling_ the story…. It's too hot, though. I'm worried that the kits are going to die. It's been like this for _days_—I'm worried that the storm will be coming, soon….

Who am I? Oh, I'm Amberleaf. I'm just the medicine cat. But…. oh! There's a rumble of thunder in the distance. It will probably rain soon…. and _really_ hard.

But I'm waiting.


	84. Trapped

100 Tales 84

Trapped

Cats had joked that she would be named Redrose, after the cat who was going to be her mate.

And she hated it.

She didn't like Rosepaw; she really didn't! But he had _forced_ her to be his mate and at least _pretend_ to like him.

And that's what she did—_pretended_ to like him.

But she really _didn't_.

The truth was that one night he had (_somehow_) dragged her out of the camp. He had pinned her down, his claws touching her throat, and forced her to become his (early) mate. He was a headstrong tom—absolutely _nothing_ could faze him, it seemed!—and he threatened to kill her if she didn't do what he said. What could she do? Therefore, Redpaw was _forced_ to become Rosepaw's mate—and she hated _every minute of it_.

So, she was trapped. She couldn't get out of it, yet she didn't want to be _in_ it, either.

_Trapped._

_That's all I am._

_Trapped._

_I was easily taken._

_Trapped._

The words reverberated in her mind for a little bit, and Rosepaw murmured something, and rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep; hoping the words and self-bashing would stop.

Did they?

Oh, nope, they _didn't_; instead, they only got worse.

_Trapped…. Trapped…. Trapped…. Trapped…._

_Trapped._


	85. I'm On My Way

100 Tales 85

I'm On My Way

Today, I cleaned Vixen's nest. She had gone somewhere else, to do something; I don't know what. She came back in a bad mood.

"Over there," she said stonily, pointing to the rock where she usually trained me for pain. I obediently got up and scampered over to where I should go. Vixen was in a bad mood; I was assuming that she wanted to take her anger out on something—and that was me. I was always eager to please her.

She snapped the shackles into place, and sharpened her claws on a rock, and brought them down on me. She gnawed on my belly for a little while; then she sunk her claws in deep and dragged them across my belly. She dislocated my legs and jabbed them back again. She jumped onto me and jabbed her paws into my wounds. She kicked me.

All of a sudden, she undid the shackles. "Don't move!" she ordered me. She grabbed me by the scruff and slammed me into a nearby tree. Her movements were filled with anger. She slammed my face into the ground several times, and I began to bleed. She dragged me across the hard rock-filled ground on my belly. She stuffed dung into my wounds, then into my mouth. She then dragged me out of our little place in the forest and threw me into the lake in the next clearing. It was cold! She took me out, then attached me back to the shackles. She muttered something about, "I am _so_ mad; I HATE THOSE CATS!!! I'll just leave Bug here for a while."

Then, she left me alone. She went back into her nest.

As the night went on, it began to rain.

I didn't sleep until dawn.

It _felt_ like I had only been asleep for a few moments when Vixen unlocked the shackles, and woke me up.

"Go hunting for me, please," she ordered. I scampered off into the forest.

I enjoyed the morning sunshine. After I had caught some prey, I sat for a little while, wondering what was up with Vixen's behavior last night. She had seemed really mad. _Plus,_ I had been pretty badly injured. I wondered…

…and then I knew.

A word flashed into my mind.

_Slave._

And for a second, it felt like I could _every one of Vixen's thoughts_.

_The time for trusting, I guess, is over. I need to make Bug into a _real_ slave. It's been quite a few moons. I guess the time for feeding her is over… I will just have to make her live without food, most of the time._

After hearing these thoughts, I was scared. I wondered what she could _possibly_ do to me.... How bad she could make my life.... So, I ran.

I ran and ran, intent on going back to my Clan.

_I'm on my way, my precious Clanmates,_ I whispered to myself when I had been running for a couple of hours, or so. _I'm on my way._


	86. Please, NO

100 Tales 86

Please, NO

It was a peaceful night. Lionpaw was returning from evening hunting patrol, carrying three mice in his jaws. Hollypaw, herself, was carrying two mice, a starling, and a vole. It'd been three moons since the return from the mountains, and everything was going well…. Hollypaw pondered this thought. Suddenly, she heard a rustle above the hollow. She looked up. Was that a pair of unblinking amber eyes she saw in the bushes above the hollow? She blinked her own green ones, and they were gone. Was it just a figment of her imagination? _Probably,_ she thought.

***

A screech sounded above the hollow. Something tore through the thorn tunnel.

"ATTACK!" yowled a voice.

Hollypaw jumped up at the battle cry, and raced into the camp, out of the apprentices' den, her claws unsheathed.

Cats were prowling into the camp, after a large cat, probably their leader, Hollypaw guessed.

ThunderClan warriors and apprentices leaped on the rogue cats, snarling, and claws unsheathed. The fight had begun.

She saw Firestar and Sandstorm race out of Firestar's den, snarling, but their eyes were wide with terror.

"BloodClan! Bone!" Firestar panted, skidding to a stop in front of a huge black-and-white tom.

"That's right, kitty," Bone snarled, grabbing Firestar and pinning him down. Bone was huge, his massive paw covered Firestar's belly and chest. He whispered something in the leader's ear, and Firestar nodded fearfully, his eyes round with terror. "We are BloodClan, and I am the leader, Bone!" he yowled triumphantly.

"ThunderClan, you stupid cats! Look here!" he called, holding his claws above Firestar.

All the warriors and apprentices in the clearing looked up at Bone, allowing the cats they were fighting with to pin them down, and rake their claws down their flanks.

"Ha!" Bone yowled. More cats filed in and surrounded each ThunderClan warrior, two to one. "You cannot get away this time! My warriors will torture you!"

Hollypaw let out a squeak, as the cat that was holding her down, a huge cat, whose massive paw covered her entire body when down, pushed his claws deep into her face. He flipped her onto her back, and before she knew what was happening, a third cat, holding a branch, hung her on it by her front paws. The first cat positioned himself on her belly side. The other cat, who just came in, positioned himself on her back side. Two others covered her sides, and another kept her on the branch. Her Clanmates were suffering the same.

"BloodClan, torture!" Bone ordered.

Before it started, the first cat at her belly said, "I'm Kill," the second at her back said, "I'm Torturer, BloodClan's best," the third, at her right side said, "I'm Ripper," the fourth at her left side said, "I'm Flesh-lover," and the one who was holding her on the branch snarled, "I'm Prisoner-keeper. I let my comrades torture my prisoners. You, my young friend, will get seriously injured tonight. We will kill you after you've suffered-" Hollypaw hoped it was only a few moments "-The full night." Her spirits sank.

The BloodClan warriors raked her back, sides, limbs, belly, chest, and head all simultaneously, and she was soon dripping blood, and her limbs hung limply at her sides, broken, and her skin was exposed, raw and bloody.

She let out a pained yowl, and saw Lionpaw was in even worse shape, but he was slinking away, dripping blood, to the medicine cat's den. There was a rope-thing, broken and mauled, on his branch, but he was slinking away slowly. His captors had forgotten about him, and were eating his tail, three of his paws, both his ear tips, and flesh and blood they had managed to rip off of him. Hollypaw gasped in pain as her captors tore half her tail off. Then, she saw Rosekit race out of camp, possibly to ShadowClan, for help.

Her captors tore off her ear tips, one of her pads, then gorged himself on the paw. They raked her back slowly, enjoying her cries of pain. Hollypaw tried to struggle, to kick, but her captors gripped her throat, chest and belly tightly in their teeth, and she went still. They released their grips and went on raking.

"Please, NO," she yowled.

"Oh, yes," they hissed with laughter. "Oh, yes."

_Please…. StarClan, no,_ she pleaded, in her mind and in her head.


	87. Losing Control

100 Tales 87

Losing control

Shadepelt was out hunting, when two of her Clanmates came up to her.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted them.

"Hi," grunted Darkpool. "Mind if we hunt with you?" Redclaw nodded. "Yeah. Mind if we hunt with you?"

"No, not at all!" Shadepelt exclaimed. "In fact, I'd actually be quite _glad_ for the company! Feel free!"

They followed behind her for a while, _once_ in a while catching a mouse or two so that she wouldn't suspect anything. Then, once she was _really_ engrossed in catching something, they nodded at each other, and pounced.

Darkpool pounced on Shadepelt's neck, and gave it a bite. _Then_, he flipped her over, so that she was belly-side-up.

"Cats of The Dark Forest, it is I, Darkstripe, and Redtooth, cats of The Dark Forest. We give to you this body to take over.

She was dying; dying, so that a mysterious spiritual cat from The Dark Forest could come and reincarnate in _her_ body.

It wasn't a rare occurrence in the Clans, now-a-days. The cats from The Dark Forest had figured out a way to take control of cat's bodies, and all they had to do was kill the host. That wasn't hard—all they needed was a dying cat. Usually, they only had to get somebody of theirs to kill a cat, and then, when they started dying, the spirit just had to take over their mind.

It had happened a couple of times before—and StarClan was ever-powerless to stop it.

She was weak; yet, she was clawing at the ground and screeching.

"Ahh! No! My head! My head; it _hurts_!" she yowled desperately. "_NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE ME OVER! YOU JUST CAN'T!!!!_"

Darkpool dodged her flailing claws. "Says who….?" he said cheerfully.

"Me, I do, you arrogant pieces of fox-du—" She never got to finish her sentence, for, just then, the spirit of the cat of The Dark Forest (it was a she-cat called Golden Heat, by the way) that was taking her over, _took_ over, and she died. Yes, she died; the host of the body died and went up to StarClan.

The body was instantly healed the moment that Golden Heat took over. "So, guys…." she began seriously. "Are you ready to start planning and plotting?"

"Sure." The two toms grinned, and they slowly walked back to camp.


	88. Not The Same

100 Tales 88

Not the same

I'm not the same cat that I was as an apprentice.

Oh, no. First, I was a lively little medicine cat apprentice—and I was vowing to always follow the warrior code, always be nice, you know—stuff like that.

Now, however, I have broken many, _many _rules, not only of the warrior code—don't believe me? Here—see for yourself:

_First of all_, you're not allowed to have friendships with cats from other Clans. That even goes _double_ if you are a medicine cat. So—I broke that, by becoming just a _little_ bit more than friends with Crowfeather.

_Second of all_, medicine cats, let me emphasize this, here, are not, _are not_, _ARE NOT_ allowed to have kits!!!! And, even though I _did_ keep it a secret that those were _my_ kits; and Squirrelflight helped me, _at least_ for around a year, or so, it came out.

The secret came out. Hollyleaf told it. I had to leave ThunderClan, because ThunderClan didn't want _traitors_, and _I_ didn't want my home birth Clan to be harassed by _tons_, and absolutely _tons_, of angry cats. They _already_ didn't like us—why should I give the other Clans even _more_ reasons to hate us?!

But…. the part that hurts me, _most of all_, is…. Well, it's basically just what happened to me and Crowfeather. Crowfeather, well…. He _hated_ me. He's not of the forgiving type, I get that, _and_ he's sort of prickly; yet, he didn't just have to…. _abandon_ me like that!!!! He abandoned me in my time of need!!!!

I can't believe that I caused, just, so much _trouble_ for ThunderClan.

I'm not the same cat that I used to be.


	89. Ghost

100 Tales 89

Ghost

"Now, make sure that you go to sleep after you come home from Trick-or-Treating, so that Tigerstar's ghost doesn't get you!" Daisy chided her two kits. Rosekit and Toadkit were bouncing with excitement.

"We won't, Mother!" declared Rosekit.

"Yeah, Mother! We won't!" agreed Toadkit.

Hollypaw laughed, and rolled her eyes. _I don't think they even got the message._ However, she couldn't tell Daisy, or else the easily-fretting queen would be _mad_! She chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Lionpaw was looking at her like she'd gone mad.

"Oh, just those two, with their mother." Hollypaw snorted, pointing discreetly with her tail towards Daisy and her two kits. "Daisy is just so…. _frightful_, sometimes!"

"I see what you mean." Lionpaw smiled. "Those two _are_ quite unfortunate to have _such_ an over-protective mother…." He looked thoughtful.

Hollypaw laughed. "Yeah, I know. But…. ghosts don't _really_ exist…. right?" She nudged Lionpaw.

"What?" He shook himself, jerking awake from his thoughts. "What's that?"

"You don't _really_ believe in ghosts…. Now, do you?" she pressed.

"No, of course—" Lionpaw was cut off by Jaypaw suddenly sidling up to them—he wasn't wearing a costume; no, he was going as himself—"Because," he had joked, "Twoleg kits are _always_ going out as blind men on Hallowe'en…. right?"

"Oh, I don't know," he began seriously. "StarClan tells me that weird spirits _may_ be wandering around, tonight…."

"You can't be serious!" Hollypaw snorted, and doubled over with laughter.

"No; seriously," Jaypaw insisted. "This is the Clans' first Hallowe'en. Who _knows_ what kind of ghosts, and goblins, and ghouls, all from The Dark Forest, probably, are going to be wandering around, tonight?!" He shuddered. "And I'm not quite sure I want to find out."

Hollypaw frowned. "If all you two are going to do is be silly—"

"No, I think Jaypaw's right," Lionpaw interrupted her. "Well, a-_anyway_, let's go. There's no point in waiting around here until all the candy is _gone_, right?" He winked.  
"Sure, I guess so." Hollypaw sighed. "Let's get moving." And so, they were off.

Apparently, Jaypaw's comment had spooked her more than she thought. All through the night, whenever bushes rustled, or something similar, she always jumped.

_Did I really let Jaypaw's comments get to me? About…. about _ghosts_?!_ She laughed bitterly to herself, but she knew it was true: _Ghosts _do_ exist._


	90. Costume Mask

100 Tales 90

Costume (Mask)

"This whole time, he was hiding behind a costume. A mask.

He was hiding behind the mask of a _good_ guy, of a _good_ Clan cat. Bluestar trusted him _so_ much—she found it hard to believe when he killed me, in order to try to become deputy, and she _didn't_ even notice his anger when he _wasn't_ made deputy!

StarClan worried. We couldn't help Fireheart in his quest to find out the truth, but in the end, it turns out that we _did_, anyways. We gave him discreet little hints—it didn't take him very long to figure out that this _was_ the truth, that Tigerclaw _was_ the bad guy.

He was a very good actor—just like ones up in Twoleg theaters. They come up on stage, and they play their parts…. Only, for Tigerclaw, it was _full_-time; he had to do it _all_ the _time_. Must have all seemed like it would be worth it to _him_, then!

He had so much to hide in. As an absolutely _amazing_ actor, he could play the part of a good guy, and no one would have ever known had Fireheart not come into the Clan!!

It still amazes me just how utterly convincing his mask was. I mean, even _I_ believed it—until I joined StarClan, that is.

And now, the absolutely _amazing_ costume player is down where he belongs—in the Dark Forest.

I still can't believe it. This whole time, he was hiding behind a _costume_…." Redtail finished.

"Wow!" Blossomkit declared. "That was absolutely _awesome_! Is it like at Hallowe'en, when kits and apprentices dress up and go collect candies?"

"Hmm…. Not exactly. You see, Tigerstar was _evil_," Redtail explained.

"We know that." Blossomkit nodded. "I get it."

"In a few days, it _is_ Hallowe'en, you know…." Redtail sighed. "Have you picked out your costume yet?"  
"Oh, _yes_!" Blossomkit nodded eagerly. "I'm going as a ghost."

Redtail laughed. "Nice choice. It's _so_ smart how, on Hallowe'en, you kits go out, and hide behind costumes, to get candies…."

"I know, isn't it great?!" Blossomkit gushed. "I'm going to go find Mosskit _right_ now! Maybe _she's_ already gotten her costume all picked out already!"

Redtail watched the excited kit leave, and shook his head with a laugh, and a sigh of amusement.


	91. Present

100 Tales 91

Present

Hollypaw's alarm went off. She glanced at the clock. _7:00 AM…. I can sleep for a little while longer,_ she thought, rolling over with a mutter. However, at that exact moment, her radio came on, and she listened, still half-asleep.

"_Good morning. It is Christmas morning, and I'm betting that many kids will find presents under the tree!"_ the main announcer declared.

"_I remember when I was a little girl…. I wrapped up a package of horse manure for my older brother and put it under the tree, in payback for a prank! I can't remember what it was, though,"_ giggled the female announcer.

Both announcers laughed heartily, and that's when Hollypaw _finally_ got it. She jerked off her covers, and sat up.

It was Christmas morning.

There were presents for her under the tree.

Hollypaw screamed with excitement, and got out of bed, night clothes and all. She ran down the hall to the slightly larger room, which Jaypaw and Lionpaw shared. She kicked open the door.

"Merry _Christmas_!" she sang.

Lionpaw was so surprised that he fell out of his bed. All the beds were _really_ just nests on tree trunks, that the cats had found in various Twoleg junkyards.

Jaypaw, on the other hand, glared at her with his sightless blue eyes, which were looking rather annoyed, just now. "Will you shut _up_?" he hissed. "I was still _sleeping_."

"Sorry," Hollypaw apologized, still _insanely_ excited.

"Oh, all right." Jaypaw sighed. "I can _see_ that there's no stopping you. Go wake our parents, and we'll be in the living room in a bit. Okay?"

"All right!" Hollypaw agreed cheerfully, rushing out of the room.

****

A little while later, she was with her brothers and parents downstairs, next to the tree.

"Right," Squirrelflight mewed. "We've each gotten you three presents—a big one; and two smaller ones. Who wants to open his or her presents _first_?"

"I'll go," Jaypaw offered.

"All right, then; go ahead," Brambleclaw invited, gesturing with his tail _even though_ Jaypaw couldn't see him.

Jaypaw walked slowly forwards, feeling his way for his presents, which were wrapped specially so that they smelled like herbs. He nosed his way forward, and nipped one of the three boxes that were his open.

First of all, he found a tail warmer. He felt its warmth, as he turned around to put it on his tail. He waved his tail around.

"Hey; thanks, Mom, and Dad!" Jaypaw laughed, carefree. He opened his next two presents. One was an herb shredder, and the other one was a blanket. He liked his presents; very much, in fact. But, he set aside, reluctantly, though, as Lionpaw stepped up.

Lionpaw decided to open his smallest presents, first. He opened one. It was a…. a sock. It was orange with darker orange stripes on it. He tried it on his right paw.

"Hey, this is absolutely _wonderful_!" he exclaimed.

"I know; isn't it." Squirrelflight's eyes were wide with excitement. "I got you two. They're different colours. They're your two smallest presents."

Lionpaw nodded, and, once he had opened the next sock, too, he reached over for the biggest one. It was _really_ big. What was it….?

Pretty soon, his question was answered.

"Hey…. It's an orange soccer ball! Absolutely _perfect!_" he exclaimed.

He stepped back to let Hollypaw go, once he had said thank you to his parents, and such. Hollypaw opened the first smallest box.

"Hey, cool; it's a rock for my fish tank! Thanks, Dad!" It clearly said, _From Brambleclaw_, on the label; so that was how she knew. She kept fish. Only the smallest ones that were in the steam, but still. It was such a _fun_ hobby!

She opened the next box. "Humm…. just a pair of socks, but they're _very_ nice. Thanks, Mom!" She grinned, and turned to the last box. It was absolutely _huge_.

Hollypaw ripped it open, and a huge mouse cage unfolded in front of her. She gasped. "Great StarClan! Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad! This is absolutely _great_!" She had _finally_ been allowed to get a pet white mouse, but the only cage that she could find that _wasn't_ too expensive was teeny for even a pair of little ones, and she had to clean it out weekly, to prevent it from getting so filthy that the mice could die.

Now that all of the kids had opened their presents, Squirrelflight suggested, "How about pancakes?"

"_Yeah!_" all three young cats shouted, and Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight headed into the kitchen for their _own_ presents.


	92. Who Are U

100 Tales 92

Who Are U

Icewing had thought it was a normal night. She had thought that the day afterwards would be normal, too. The pure white she-cat curled up next to her mate, Darkclaw, a pure black tom, at night.

She often woke up in the middle of the night, and he was either gone, or leaving.

However, one night, she woke up, and she decided to follow him. She kept to the shadows, and ran in the trees, if needed. Well? It was.

She followed him through the forest, out of the territory, and—she was a little reluctant, at this one—into Twolegplace. She had seen him going to meet a group of mysterious cats. She hid behind a Dumpster, and was quite happy listening.

She was shocked at some of what she heard.

"So? Dark Tooth, Yellow Fang, Green Leaf, Red Blood, Glistening Claws, Sky Killer, Hawk Talon, and Brown Tree Bark; are you ready to lead the attack on the Clans?"

Icewing listened, with growing horror. Dark Tooth was her own Dark Claw!

Yellow Fang and Glistening Claws were of RiverClan, Suntooth and Whiteclaw, respectively.

Green Leaf, Red Blood, and Sky Killer were of ShadowClan, as Greenflower, Redsplash, and Eagletalon, respectively.

And, finally, Hawk Talon and Brown Tree Bark were of WindClan, as Hawktalon and Brownfur, respectively.

_Are _all_ these cats _really_ trying to take over the Clans?!_ Icewing wondered, quite desperately.

"We _will_ take over the Clans!" Darkcl—Dark Tooth declared.

Icewing gasped, quite loudly, actually. There was a silence. And then, all of a sudden, heads started to turn.

Cats glared at her as they spotted her now, cowering behind the Dumpster. She began to run. She barely heard Dark Tooth's, "I'll deal with her, Sir!" But she _did_ hear his pounding footsteps after her.

She ran and she ran, and she ran ever faster. However, pretty soon, she started to tire out, and she tripped over a rock. She couldn't get up fast enough, and, pretty soon, Dark Tooth's big black paw slammed down onto her side flank. He held a rope, and quickly bound her paws and ankles together. He glared down at her, and began to rake his claws down her flank. She screeched, in pain.

"Quiet, Icewing!" he roared.

"Who…." she managed to gasp out, "_are_…. you…."

"Why, only a prime-time elite member of BloodClan!" Darkclaw, or, rather, Dark Tooth, purred menacingly.

"Why…. did you…." She wriggled painstakingly, being able to say no more, for she was bound and there was a _sharp_, clawed, paw on her throat.

"Let me go!" she suddenly gasped. "Can—you…. let me go…. please." She gasped for air, as Dark Tooth was slowly pressing farther down on her throat. Farther…. farther down….

And then, everything went black.


	93. Bleed It Out

100 Tales 93

Bleed it out

Jaykit padded out of the camp entrance, yawning. He had woken up and went to go to make dirt. Since the only other route into the dirt-place had been blocked when Mudstar became leader to keep the cats from getting out, he had to leave through the real camp entrance.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he only just noticed when Tornear caught him in his claws and glared down at him.

"What are you doing out here, _blind kit?_" Tornear teased, poking him with a claw.

"I—I just came out here to make—to make—dirt," Jaykit stuttered.

"That's not an answer!" Tornear roared. Jaykit knew that Tornear only hated him because he was blind. Tornear was supposed to be his mentor for when he became a warrior, and he hated every hair on Jaykit's pelt.

"Get lost," the gray kit muttered. He had better things to do than stand around here all day answering to Tornear.

"You dare defy me?" Tornear asked. His eyes got all squinty and angry, and he flicked his tail angrily. The next thing Jaykit knew, Weaselfur and Owlwhisker were surrounding him, eyes glowing with hatred, and a new thing—bloodlust?

Weaselfur and Owlwhisker held Jaykit down while Tornear clawed him. Jaykit shrieked in agony as Tornear tore chunks of skin from his underbelly, and then bit the red, bloody wounds.

"You see, this is what happens to you when you're blind." Jaykit barely heard Owlwhisker's coarse hiss down in his ear as he held Jaykit down, stinging his sides with his claws.

"Please stop hurting me!" Jaykit squeaked, in agony.

"No." The two toms grinned down at him. "Bleed it out."

And so, Jaykit did. And then, he passed out.

He woke up in the medicine cat's den, with no memory of the event, except for, _"Bleed it out."_ He shuddered. He definitely did _not_ want to experience that; like, not ever _again_.


	94. Zero

**Honestly, I mean; I _would_ have done this for every chapter, but the _only_ web browser that I can do it on is IE, because Opera doesn't work for it anymores; and this is just so _slow_. DX Oh, you're wondering what 'it' is? ^^; Well, I'm writing _descriptions_ and _forenotes/words_ before chapters, of courses!!!! :D This one is kinda weird.... But, then agains; it _is_ one of my older files -- a couple of my chapters, I have pulled from my older files on my memory stick. Now, this one, I wrote around a year ago or so; but I _did_ name the cat Stupid; at first, that is. DX However, the name didn't seem to want to agree with the Grammar thing on my computer, so I switched it to Zero today, which was actually quite convenient for my chapter. ^^; **

**Well, _anyways_; I hope you enjoysies!!!! ^^; **

**And.... Oh, oh yeah; I'll see you in a couple of minutes at _Spots_, all rightsies?! ^^; That's Chapter 100 for me, in case you haven't realized it yet. :D **

***pokes Gingerstar14 & brackenfurlover & xx-Moonshine-xx & all the others who were in this contest***

**See????! I have now _WONS_!!!! ^^; Aren't I triumphant. :D **

* * *

100 Tales 94

Zero

"Hurry up, Zero! Today's your first day of slave work. Stop sleeping, it's time to get up." A big paw shook my shoulder and I jerked awake on the cold, hard ground of the outside of the den.

"Whuzza you wann," I mewled. "I'm trying to sleep here," I continued more clearly. Suddenly I realized: "Why am I outside the den?"

"Because from now on you sleep out here," Dagger informed me, slashing my nose open. I wondered why I didn't feel it. "You're two moons old. Now you're a slave."

"What?" I mewed.

"I said, NOW YOU'RE A SLAVE!" he thundered, bringing his claws down on my back. It didn't hurt, but I mewled anyway. No need to get him to do more.

"Okay, okay," I mewed.

"Now you go hunting," Dagger growled. "Make sure to bring enough food for all of us. If you don't, you will be punished." But something in his eyes told me that I would be punished anyway.

I scurried off, into the forest.

I had no idea how to hunt. This was complete guesswork! I saw a mouse and padded toward it on soft pawsteps. Midnight had told me once that the trick to catching prey is being quiet on your paws. _Okay, Midnight, you were right,_ I thought. I pounced and got it between my paws.

_Yes!_ I thought triumphantly.

As the morning wore on, the air became warmer and I got a sparrow, a jackrabbit, three more mice, two water voles, a fish and a tiny, scrawny baby vole. I was getting hungry, so I downed the tiny vole in a heartbeat. I counted up my prey at sunhigh.

I had two sparrows, one jackrabbit, four mice, three water voles and two fish. I carried it all back to the other cats.

I served Sun first. I gave him two mice. "Here you go, Sun." I smiled weakly, but it changed to a fake grimace as he slashed at my face and my eyes. He didn't even give an explanation. I padded up to Sky.

I gave Sky one mouse and one water vole. "Here," I said, shoving the food at him. He nodded, waved his tail cheerfully and in thanks and dug in.

"Well, at least _someone's_ nice around here," I muttered under my breath.

I went to Grass next, handing her a sparrow. She muttered a word of thanks and dug in, signaling with her tail for me to go. I went on around the clearing to Claw's spot.

"Give me my food," he growled. I handed him a fish.

"Thank you," he hissed and slashed at my chest. Blood welled up out of the scratches and I scurried off, to Midnight. Although I didn't feel the pain, the blood was dripping in a trail on the ground.

By now the only fresh-kill on the pile was a sparrow, a mouse, two water voles and a fish. I decided to give Midnight, my favourite cat, a sparrow and a water vole. She nodded her thanks and called for her kits. Apple and Spots came tumbling out of the den. They were hardly two moons old. They still drank milk. I was the same, growing out of milk though. For the next moon I would still drink milk every evening and then sleep outside.

"Thanks, Rose," she whispered.

"You're welcome," I said, pleased.

"Thanks, Rose!" both of her kits whispered.

"You're welcome. How do you like the water vole?" I asked them kindly. I saw Midnight shoot me a glance out of the corner of my eye. Uh-oh. Dagger was bristling.

"Good!" the kits chorused together.

"Um, bye," I said. I picked up the mouse, the water vole and the fish and hurried over to Dagger.

"Thanks," the tom grumbled. Then he said, "Lie at my feet, belly side up. And do hurry."

I obeyed without question, although I still wondered why. He lunged at my belly and sank his teeth into it, gnawing on my flesh. His claws raked my throat and my haunches. When he finally let up he gave me the remains of the mouse after he had finished the scrawny thing and I ate gratefully.

That night, as I curled up to suckle from Midnight's teats, I wondered why I was being tortured so.


	95. Forever

100 Tales 95

Forever

Amber and Ashes slept peacefully in the curve of their mother's belly, beside their brothers, Ginger, Moss, and Talon. Their mother's name was Quince, and they were all sleeping peacefully in the hollow beneath the Bush, their birth-place.

None of them heard the huge gray-furred intruder come sniffing around the base of the bush. He opened his mouth to taste the air. _Hmm, kits. Two she-cats and three toms, and by the smell of the kits and the mother, I'd guess that they're about two moons old. Perfect._ The she-cats would do nicely as slaves. He crept in.

The mother was orange with black tabby stripes and a white underbelly and paws, one she-kit was calico and the other gray. They were both very small, promising easy submission. One tom was ginger, one was black and the other was gray and brown. But he couldn't take toms, they were more likely to grow up to be strong fighters; she-cats, on the other hand, were better hunters and more submissive so they were _great_ to torture.

He purred, then picked the two she-kits up by the scruff, gently holding them until he got far enough away.

Once he was back at his camp, the gray she-kit was crying. He set the calico down and shoved the gray kit's face into the dirt. She didn't stop, but cried louder. Perfect. He'd get many screams of pain from this one. He said gruffly, to see if it worked, "Lie at my feet, belly side up."

As if by magic, the tiny kit turned over until she was belly side up by his feet. He sunk his huge fangs into the tiny belly, and raked her face and haunches. The gray kit's belly was about a mouthful for him. He _was_ a huge cat, though. The gray she-kit cried and screamed, and he put a paw on her throat and squeezed until she fell limp. Then he released it, and she started to gasp for air, but he put his paw on her throat again until she writhed and struggled, and by then he was pretty sure she'd die if he didn't stop, so he took his paw off and set the tiny kit in a pile of his dung in the dirt-place. That was where they'd sleep. "Your name will now be Mousebrain," he growled to the gray kit and stalked out of his dirt-place.

He moved on to the calico kit. She was still sleeping peacefully. Well, that would soon change. She was lying belly side up, having turned as well, so he raked his claws down her belly. She screamed in her sleep. Good, he'd achieved a scream. He picked her up by the scruff and set her down in the pile of dung next to her bleeding sister. "Your name will now be Foxdung," he whispered to the calico kit, for she had just fallen in a big pile of watery foxdung.

He purred, satisfied, and stalked out of the dirtplace, into the night, into his den. He would keep these slaves.... He would keep them forever, and he would torture them for life.


	96. No Matter What

**Long.... Heys; me _likes_ thisses!!!! ^^; 8D **

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100 Tales 96

No Matter What

It was the slow time of day in ThunderClan. There were no patrols out (the previous one had just returned), and the next one was being organized (Honeyfern, Poppyfrost, Sorreltail, and Thornclaw), and everything was fine.

Or maybe not.

Out in the forest, lying in wait just beyond the thorn barrier, was a large group of cats. These cats were determined to capture as many she-cats and kits as they could as sell them off as potential mates and slaves. They were getting ready to attack ThunderClan.

But anyway, back to ThunderClan. The next patrol was just getting together when all of a sudden there was a battle cry.

"Attack!"

In large numbers, dirty, skinny, and _strong_ cats swarmed into the camp. One of the biggest headed straight for Firestar, and began battling with him. They were locked in a rolling ball of screeching voices and flying fur. Firestar felt like he was going to be ripped to pieces, but the tom was strong: He could almost not feel Firestar's attacks, getting feebler and with less power, and was able to keep on killing Firestar.

—Storm's POV—

I glanced frantically around the camp. Everywhere I looked, cats were involved in battles or just trying to defend another cat, and I felt sorry for these cats. I didn't want to go, but I had been forced to. My leader, Thorn, had ordered me to go in order to prove my loyalty. I knew that if I could capture some she-cats, my loyalty would be proved: I didn't _have_ to hurt them, after all. And perhaps that was the best way to handle things.

I crouched next to a bramble bush, scanning the area. I signaled to my friends, Stumpytail and Firepelt, and they quickly came to help me. Firepelt used to be a Clan cat, from ShadowClan, actually, but had run away with Stumpytail following him after Tigerstar, the vicious ruler, had taken over ShadowClan. Neither of them had mates yet; until now, we had been too busy protecting our group to think about taking mates, but now we wanted to find a mate. And here would be _perfect_. We didn't want to _hurt_ them, necessarily, because we weren't mean cats like Thorn was, but also because mates were supposed to _love_ each other, not be tortured by one another! That was one of our vows as friends, actually. We had been dubbed as the Three Top Protectors by the group because we let nothing distract us. Now what would happen….? We were about to take mates, for the spirits' sakes!!!

Firepelt quickly took down the cat guarding the bush and they rolled away, locked in battle with tufts of fur flying about. Stumpy and I quickly walked into the den, while the den's protector was occupied.

I glanced around the den. The first cat I locked my eyes on was a young she-cat. She was a small gray-and-white cat, with huge amber eyes. She looked scared. She was protecting two tiny kits who were mewling pitifully, frightened and hungry. And then, I knew, I wanted _her_. I didn't care if she didn't want to mate or not. I loved her!!!

Stumpytail had a hungry look in his eyes, too, as he looked at a fluffy cream-coloured she-cat. She was scared, and trembling, but she looked into his eyes with an expression of defiance.

Meanwhile, Firepelt had raced in, and was staring at a tortoiseshell she-cat. She stared back with an expression of love in her eyes, and then I knew that we were _all_ perfect for each other.

"Come on!" I yowled. "If you don't want to get hurt, you'd best come with us!" The she-cats picked up the kits and followed me.

Hazeltail's POV

Later, we were all shoved into a den full of she-cats.

"Hi! What are your names?" a small she-cat asked cheerfully.

"Um. I'm Hazeltail, this is Daisy, my mother, and this is Poppyfrost," I replied slowly.

"Oh. Hi!" the kit greeted us, jumping up and down.

"Why is there a _kit_ in here?" I asked another cat.

"Oh, hi, I'm Lolly. She's in here because she was too annoying for the queens and guards to handle, and she got shoved in here to be auctioned off today. Her name is Moonkit," the light brown tabby kittypet beside me explained.

"Oh…." I looked at the claw marks all down Moonkit's side. "She's from the Clans! She looks—and _smells_—like a WindClan cat."

"Oh, no; here come the auctioneers!" cried Lolly, as the toms came in, holding thick circle-rope things with smaller ropes attached. One of them shoved it over my head and I hissed and scratched him, and he raked his claws down my belly and said, "One more move like that, and you will be in the torture den." I stayed silent, fearful.

Storm's POV

Firepelt, Stumpytail, and I sat in the rows of bleachers, waiting patiently with huge piles of prey beside us. We all each had _at least_ ten mice, and I had seventeen. I had hunted with all I had to get this many. I was going to have my dream she-cat! Firepelt and Stumpytail had the same determined looks on their faces.

Now all we needed was for the she-cats to come out.

When they finally _did_ come out, they were listed by name and number. I watched. It turned out that the cat I wanted, Poppyfrost, was number seven. I groaned. My unlucky number!

"Number four, Daisy!" the auctioneer called.

Stumpytail yowled, "Four mice!"

One of Thorn's closest followers, Acorn, stood up and called calmly, "_Ten_ mice!"

"Ten mice! Do I hear eleven mice? Do I hear eleven mice? No? Going once, going twice, go—"

"NO! FOURTEEN MICE!" Stumpytail called with a panicked expression. He was going crazy over Daisy, I knew.

"Fourteen mice! Do I hear fifteen mice? No? Okay, going once, going twice, GONE!!! Sold to Stumpytail!"

"Wait!" Acorn jumped up, but it was already too late. A cat was leading Daisy to where Stumpytail sat, and he put his tail over his shoulders comfortingly. She purred.

He whispered to her, "I'll never make you do anything you don't want to do, no matter what. Don't worry about that."

She purred back, "Thanks," in response.


	97. So Cold

**So cold, hmm; so cold.... DX **

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100 Tales 97

So cold

Swiftkit watched her brothers and sisters sleep, her tail swishing slightly. They were all starving and weak for some reason. She, on the other paw, was not. She felt very alive, and she wondered what was happening. _I'll go ask Longclaw what's happening,_ she thought. _He might know. He's our only elder, and very ancient. He was here even before the leader before Shadowstar was born. That's a long time._

Swiftkit padded out into the middle of the camp, noticing how cold the air was. Never fear. Her long gray tabby pelt and plumy tail were just the thing she needed to protect her. Swiftkit raced across the camp to the elder's den, which was just as open as the nursery.

"Longclaw?" she called.

The elder's dark brown tabby head appeared from deep in the dead leaves and grass. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?" Swiftkit asked the elder, padding closer.

"Sure." Longclaw sat up and waited for her to come over to him, then wrapped his tail around her shoulders. "What is it you need to know?"

"Um—" Suddenly, Swiftkit wasn't very sure if this was a good idea. "Why is everybody going hungry except me?" She thought back to the time when they were suckling from their mother, and her siblings would get no milk while she'd get a lot.

"There's no milk!" Shadekit would complain.

"Yes, there is." Swiftkit would show them the milk in her mouth. "See?"

"Let Shadekit drink from there, then," Ferntrail would say, gently pushing her away, letting Shadekit take her place. She would latch on to the teat that Shadekit just had, and there would be lots of milk. Then, Shadekit would latch onto her former teat, and say, "There's no milk here!" And it all started over again.

Swiftkit shook her head vigorously and turned to Longclaw, who had just said softly, "Swiftkit."

"Yes?" Swiftkit looked up at the dark brown elder eagerly.

"I'm going to tell you something very special. But you must never repeat it to _anyone_, not your mother, not your siblings, not your Clan leader, not the medicine cat." Longclaw's serious deep green eyes gazed into hers, making her blink.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Good." Longclaw shifted on his paws. "Now listen closely and remember it all." He took a deep breath.

"I'm listening." Swiftkit looked up at his face as he began to speak.

"Long ago, in the days even before I was born, the Clans and StarClan lived in harmony. What held them all together, you ask? A cat named Starsight. He was a dark ginger tom with deep blue eyes, and he was neither alive nor was he dead, but he appeared to both. How…. I can't really say. I've just heard that he looked like a spirit, but not like a spirit. I don't know how this would look, mind you, but back to the story. Anyway, he controlled the world of the Clans. He could make kits get born, and he could kill them. He could grow trees, or destroy the entire forest. He could make prey abundant in resources, but, at the same time, he could destroy it all. He was like a god to the Clans. But one day a cat named Silverheart decided he didn't want Starsight there, and he gathered cats who thought the same. Clan cats, StarClan cats and rogues alike, all who lived in the forest that wanted him out. Silverheart was a good cat in both heart and mind, but he was very young and foolish. He had forgotten the elders' stories that, if you angered Starsight, he would place his wrath on the forest. He would kill everything, cats, prey and the forest alike. Anyway, Silverheart and his gang drove Starsight out one day and that was the end of him. Or so they thought. They never realized that now, many, many moons later, even though Starsight is far, far away, he can still use his mind powers to place his wrath on the forest, making it always leaf-bare and making the forest have no prey. The trees have died and cats are getting sick because of the lack of prey. It's a horrible time for the forest, and nobody knows what to do. Nobody wants to leave, because this is their home. Anyway, I must tell you the rest of the story now. It took him a while, but Starsight's mind powers finally reached this forest where we all live. Not anywhere else, only this forest and the surrounding land."

"Um…. Longclaw?" Swiftkit asked. "If cats are dying, why am I healthy and sleek? Why aren't I scrawny and weak like my siblings?"

"I was getting to that part." Longclaw sighed. "Before they drove him out, Starsight vowed that he'd spare one cat, and that cat would come and bring him back to the forest. Swiftkit, I think that cat is you."

"Me?" Swiftkit was incredulous. "You have to be joking!"

"No, it's true." Longclaw shook his head. "I don't know if you have the willpower to bring him back to the forest, but whether you call him through dreams or journey to find him, please be safe wherever you go."


	98. Final

**Aww! A warrior is going to the elders' den; yet, she still has the heart of a kit!!!! ^^; Aww, how sweet. 3 Also, I got a Tropical Fish calendar, absolutely _*perfect_* for 2010. :3 **

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100 Tales 98

Final

Goldenheart was resting outside the warriors' den one fine sunny morning in new-leaf. She didn't feel like going on patrol; and, as one of the eldest warriors, it was basically her choice on what she wanted to do, or not.

Redheart passed her. "You're getting' old, eh?!" he joked.

Goldenheart laughed. "Yeah, sure," she laughed. "I feel just, so…. so _old_! Oh, my frail old bones! Redheart, bring me some fresh-kill; now, will you?! My old frail old bones just can't _manage_ it!" And then, she collapsed into a fit of giggles. "Honestly, Redheart; you are so _nuts_."

"Thank you." Redheart grinned. "It's what I do best."

Goldenheart had been trying for _so_ long to hide it; but eventually, she just _had_ to admit it…. She _was_ getting old. She _did_ want to move into the elders' den, and she _would_ rather be there, safe and warm and dry through the scariest of storms, then out in the cold, being a warrior, and all that such….

"_Smokestar!_" Mousewhisker suddenly rushed into camp, panting, his ears flat, and his pelt bristling. "StreamClan have attacked the border!"

"_What?_" A warrior named Stormpelt began to pace furiously, his tail whipping back and forth and his pelt bristling in rage.

"That's unfair!" Reedpaw declared.

Yellowstar walked out of his den and jumped down Highledge. The leader of LightningClan was calm, cool and collected.

"Cats of LightningClan," he declared. "This wouldn't be the first time that StreamClan attacked our border, and it most _definitely_ won't be the last. In the battle patrol will be Stormpelt, Reedpaw, Lionpaw, Tigerstripe, Goldenheart, Redheart, Appleleaf, Lilytail, and Petalnose! Mousewhisker, you can go, too, if you wish. Now.... _go_!"

The cats absolutely _rushed_ out of the camp. They headed towards the StreamClan border, where they could _already_ hear fighting and screeching.

Goldenheart leaped towards an apprentice. It cowered beneath her, barely dodging her blows, but not even harming _her_, either.

She gave it one last swipe with her claws, and batted it away into the river. It quickly swam over to the other side, drenched and gasping.

"Good job, Goldenheart!" Redheart had suddenly appeared at her side.

"Thanks." She smiled. "It's what I do best."

Redheart laughed. "You're a nut-case!"

But he didn't have any more time to complain, _or_ to laugh, for a StreamClan warrior was prowling with her back to them.

"Let's go _get_ her!" Redheart whispered, nudging Goldenheart.

"You're on!" the older she-cat replied.

As one, they pounced on the lithe brown tabby figure, and slowly drove her back towards the river. She glared at them one last time, and swam away.

"That's everyone!" Stormpelt suddenly declared. "Come on, LightningClan cats; we've won here, so let's head back to the camp."

Feeling happy at their victory, and not exactly _too_ worse for wear, Redheart and Goldenheart trailed behind the other cats, as they went back to the camp.

After all the cheering back at the camp had been done, Goldenheart suddenly spoke up.

"Smokestar…." she began reluctantly. "I'm getting a bit…. Well, I'm getting a bit _old_ for all this warrior life. I would like to move to the elders' den."

Cats gasped at this, but Smokestar just nodded. "I was expecting this," she murmured. "You were getting more tired and less active lately, and I knew that this battle, if not your final one, would most _definitely_ be one of your last." And she looked to the sky, and performed the ceremony.

"Goldenheart, is it really your wish to give up your title as warrior and move to the elders' den?" she began; breathlessly, almost.

"It is, Smokestar." Goldenheart lowered her head, suddenly looking older than ever before.

Smokestar nodded. "Very well. May your moons in the elders' den be happy ones."

"Goldenheart! Goldenheart! _Goldenheart!_" cheered her Clanmates, as she slowly walked to the elders' den, flanked by her new denmates.

This had been her final battle.


	99. Death

**Oohsies!!!! ^^; This one is short (only 487 words, compared to my last ones.... D:); however, I _did_ like this one, so I left it as-is!!!! ^^; (Actually, I just did it _nows_. XD) Well, enjoysies!!!! ^^; 8D :3 :o **

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100 Tales 99

Death

The death of the Clans was a day not foreseen. Well, it was, but no cat _wanted_ to for-see it. In cat, no cats _wanted_ to find out when the death of the Clans was….

Well, it started with a _great_, big, battle between absolutely _all_ of the Clans. About ten cats from each Clan had died.

_Next_, there was a _super-cold_ leaf-bare in which all the queens and kits died. The elders barely hung on, some succumbing to their deaths, and some apprentices and warriors overworked themselves; so they died, too.

By this time, there were only a couple cats left in each Clan. The cats banded together, and tried to make it on their own. But instead, they all died when they camped out under an absolutely _large_ monster overnight (it had little bristly things on it, so it was sheltered from the rain; **A/N: in Twoleg terms this is a road-cleaning truck**), and it woke up and crushed them all. They were in StarClan before they knew it.

Redtail looked down from StarClan, and sighed. There were absolutely _no_ Clan cats, _anywhere_.

"We let them die." Goldenflower's voice trembled. Redtail turned to see the queen, and regarded her in surprise. She was standing there in front of him, with her head down; staring at her paws.

"Well, not exactly _our_ faults—it was all bad luck!" Redtail knew, trying to both and remain cheerful. But neither of them actually admitted what they knew—that the Clan's apocalypse day had come.

"I…." Goldenflower began; then promptly burst into tears, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

"I-I just wish that we'd been able to save them," Redtail admitted, looking down at his paws. "I mean, we had all the opportunities—but we cancelled out, especially when they needed it most. And they were _just_ going into the Twolegs' electronic era—it was great," he added, sounding wistful. "I think that we just might as well accept that we _couldn't_ save them, because they're not coming back."

"You're right." Goldenflower sighed. "It's, just…. really sad, y'know?!"

"Yeah, I know." Redtail nodded. "I just wish that the death of the Clans hadn't been _now_; why couldn't it have been later?!"

StarClan was powerless to stop the death of the Clans. So, now, the Clans' existence was living on, only in the memories of StarClan, unknown to anyone else.

"But, wait—" Redtail said suddenly. "Aren't we forgetting something?! Isn't there still…. _SkyClan?!_" He snuck a glance at Goldenflower. She had, by now, perked up.

"Yeah!" she agreed. "There's still SkyClan. Come on; let's go tell all the _rest_ of them!!"

By _"all the rest of them"_, she meant StarClan. Redtail and Goldenflower hurried off; eager to tell their fellow StarClanmates about their sudden realization. This could be a new beginning for the Clans!!


	100. Spots

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Mmm-hmm. Welcome to a cat's vision of 'Spots'.

**Well. *ANYWAYS.* Enough for the serious stuffz, because I've got a crowd to thank. 3 Please notify me if there are any errors on my 100 Tales project (a chapter is repeated twice, or somethings); and I will fix the problem _immediatelyies_!!!! ^^; **

**Well, *ANYWAYS*; thanks to Gingerstar14, for giving me tips to get over Writers' Block. (Which isn't quite gone yet.... .;)**

**brackenfurlover, for taking that afternoon and chatting with me a few months back. I remember that I did around 18 chapters that day, and she did 11. 3 **

**xx-Moonshine-xx, for persevering. ^^; **

**RiverLee, for coming up with this project.... Wait; it _was_ you, now, wasn't it?! :o **

**And, finally; all my favourite music bands, ranging from Scotch (go listen to their Delirio Mind and Disco Band RIGHT NOW; I mean, they are just entirely *AWESOME*) to Nickelback (who is my absolutely *favourite* artist atm, I might add), and the help of my favourite radio station, for playing all the hit songs, *just* when I needed thems. :3 Scroll down the page for a good chapter that I wasn't able to put in, unfortunatelyies, and an excerpt of another one. ^^; **

**(EDIT: Whoops; some thing came up about my Clipboard, and some weird thingy about a pop-up blocker, or somethings....? .; Well, _anyways_; I can't upload the chapter, so I'll just do that _to-morr-ows_! ^^; OR in a different chapter, of courses.... C: ^^;)**

**Again, thanks for all your help, guys! :D :3 *le wins* :3 :) **

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Spots

Spots.

So many spots.

So many spots that they covered my vision and I could barely see.

I knew that it was a prophecy. I was dreaming. I wasn't drowning…. Or was I? I attempted to breathe, I could; okay, so it definitely _was_ a dream; now what was it about?

"StarClan, are you there?" I called.

"Amberleaf." I heard a voice. I spun around. The spots were gone. I looked behind me, but there were the spots….

Huh. This made no sense. But then I saw who was in front of me….

"Uh-uh-uh—Spottedleaf!" I gasped.

"That's right, little one," she purred. "Your thoughts are correct; we _do_ have a prophecy for you!"

"Ah…. really? What is it about?" I tried to contain my excitement (as I had never received a prophecy before), but I just couldn't hide it!

"This is it…." Spottedleaf breathed. Suddenly, she was gone! My vision was covered in spots again. I let out a yowl.

_Look closer…._

I strained my vision. And then I could see it. It was a white speckled coat, and the speckles were black and brown; could it be…. Snowfall? I heard a chuckle.

And then, all of a sudden, I heard a voice! It was the voice of a prophecy. I closed my eyes and it was completely silent around me as the prophecy was told.

_The spotted cat will save the Clans. Look for the one different from other cats: unique, and spotted with coloured snow._

That sounded kind of obvious….

_Trust the spots. The spots will save you,_ said the voices.

Spottedleaf reappeared. "Take heed of what you have just seen, little one; now, go to sleep," she purred. She breathed on me. "Have a nice rest…."

A moss nest appeared in front of me. I curled up into it.

_I hope I can remember the prophecy!_

As my breathing slowed and my eyes closed, I had one last thought.

_Trust the spots; I've got to trust the spots…._


	101. Omitted Chapters and Excerpts

**This was what **_**was**_** originally going to be No Matter What, but then I uploaded the wrong document by mistake, because I actually had **_**two**_** versions of that one…. It is **_**all**_** explained in Chapter 100. Enjoy! :3 **

"I'll help guard and protect my Clan no matter what!" mewed Dawnpaw. It was time for Dawnpaw's warrior ceremony. She had _just_ gotten back from her journey, and it was time for her to become a _warrior_.

"Even though you were a slave for many moons before?" some cat called out from the crowd at the bottom of the Great Rock.

This was true, Dawnpaw realized. She had been a slave for nearly seven and a half moons before Stripepaw and Leopardpaw had come to rescue her. Stripepaw had been a slave for five moons at one time, from the time she turned seven moons to the time she turned eleven moons; she wasn't any less worthy than Stripepaw just because she'd been a slave longer!

"I am _no_ less worthy!" she yowled. "I have been training hard ever since I got back, and although I _am_ much older than what a _normal_ warrior would be on the day of their ceremony, that doesn't make me any better or worse!"

Cherrystar laughed. "Okay." Then she looked up to StarClan. "I, Cherrystar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Dawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to defend and protect and defend your Clanmates, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," mewed Dawnpaw.

"Then from this moment, Dawnpaw, you shall be known as Dawnheart. StarClan admires your courage and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MistClan."

"Dawnheart! Dawnheart!" cheered her Clan. Dawnheart felt her ears grow hot with embarrassment—and was that pride? Yes, it was!

_I am proud of my heritage and of my place in the Clan! I shall serve ThunderClan for as long as I can!_ Dawnheart thought happily.

**Here's an excerpt of something which I lost the document for (Pale Feelings **_**was**_** rather good): **

It was time for a daily torture session for Palepaw. Since her "mate", or, rather, her _slave_ master, was the leader, he tortured her best. She walked slowly up to the ledge where the leader made his den, her paws bogged down with dead, and her mind _spinning_ in fear.

"Why, hello, Palepaw," her leader, Clawstar, greeted her. From the tone of his voice nobody would have _ever_ guessed that he had ill intentions for Palepaw. But, alas, he did; and, if you listened _very_ closely, and watched _very_ closely, you could _just_ see the menacing gleam in his eyes, and hear the underlying menacing tone of his voice.

She trembled, and at a tail flick from him, she lay down in front of him. He laughed.

"You know, Palepaw," he began slowly, "you are the _MOST OBEDIENT SLAVE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!"_ And then, with that, he sunk his claws _deep_ into her belly.


End file.
